


Our Grinch

by Stuckylover4ever



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Artist Steve Rogers, Asexual Bruce Banner, Atheist Tonk Stark, Bixsexual Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Has Panic Attacks, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Christmas, Christmas Special, Deaf Clint Barton, Divorce Pepper Potts/Tony Stark later, Drama & Romance, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Issues, Gay Bucky Barnes, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Jewish Bucky Barnes, M/M, Multi, NaNoWriMo 2019, Nonbinary Steve Rogers, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Pepper Potts Friendly, Other, Past Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov - Freeform, Pepper Potts Angst, Pepper Potts Dies, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Religious Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is Not The Avengers Therapist, Sam Wilson is So Done, Steve Rogers Has PTSD, Steve Rogers has Self-Esteem Issues, Steve Rogers has an eating disorder, Steve Rogers is Not a Virgin, Team as Family, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark Has Panic Attacks, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Trans Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-01-20 16:03:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 48,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21284411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stuckylover4ever/pseuds/Stuckylover4ever
Summary: It is known to the other Avengers that Tony Stark hated Christmas. Growing up, Tony didn't have Christmas because his father was always worried about finding Captain America. Now things have changed. Thanos has been beaten, and the Avengers are gathering for a Christmas to remember. While it may be sad and hurt them, it's one they won't forget.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Kudos: 17





	1. Putting Up The Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, I am writing this story here for NaNoWriMo. I hope to complete it by the end of November and have at least 50,000 words written. There will be death and foul words in this. If you don't like it, then you may skip this. Also, as much as I love Pepper Potts, it isn't friendly to her. She can be and is a bitch.

It was the first of December, and Tony Stark had just woken up. More like his young daughter Morgan who was six, woke him up. She was excited today. They would get to put up the Christmas tree. "Daddy, it's time to get up," she said, jumping on the bed.

Pepper sat up, looking at her as Tony slowly opened his eyes. "Morgan, what have I told you about jumping on the bed," said Pepper in a stern voice. She was tired of Morgan jumping on their bed. "You are not allowed to jump on this bed or any bed."

Quickly Morgan stopped jumping on the bed. She smiled as she moved up to her parents to lay in between them. "Hi, mommy and daddy," said Morgan.

Tony smiled at her as he started to tickle her. She began to giggle. "How is my princess today?" he asked her. He then looked over to Pepper real quick. "You could let her have some fun, but I understand why you do not want her jumping on the bed."

She giggles some more. "I am fine, daddy, but it's time to get up. We need to go put up the tree," Morgan stated.

He let out a groan as he got up. Morgan ran from the room as Pepper slowly got up. "You promised her, Tony. She has been excited for this for a long time," Pepper told him as she walked over to him. She gave him a stern look. "You are not going to back out now, and if you do, then I will make your life hell."

Wrapping his arms around her, Tony leaned in to kiss her. "I know," replied Tony with a groan. "You do not have to threaten me, Pepper."

She sighed. "Tony, please get through the day for her. I promise it will be ok. Now we need to go eat," Pepper said, taking his hand.

They were leading him out of their bedroom and down the hall to the stairs. They then walked down them with Tony following them into the kitchen. Morgan was already sitting at the counter, looking at them. All Tony could do was a nod. "Fine," he said as he went to sit next to Morgan.

Pepper smiled as she got breakfast going. Pancakes with waffles. "I do not want you to forget that Steve and Bucky are coming over today," Pepper stated. "Plus, Peter said he would be by later after he gets done with his classes."

That made both of them smile. "I like Grandpa Steve and Grandpa Bucky. It will be nice to see Peter as well," Morgan told her parents.

Even if Steve and Bucky were not her grandparents, she saw them as much. "Great, at least I'll have help," Tony said.

Pepper nodded as she got the Pancakes started. "Tony, please try like I asked," she reminded him.

He sighed. "I will," was all Tony said.

Right now, Pepper and he were going through a lot. They could hardly see eye to eye on things. She wanted another kid, and he did not. Guess who won that one. Pepper did. She was currently eight months pregnant. "Tony," Pepper warned as Morgan looked between them.

"Is everything alright?" She asked them.

"Yes," they both said even if it was not. 

They had promised not to fight in front of Morgan. "Princess, do not you worry. While mommy goes out shopping, we will put up the tree," Tony stated. 

"Awesome. Thanks, daddy," said Morgan hugging him. 

He returned the hug. "You are welcome," said Tony as Pepper brought over some pancakes. 

"Here you go," she said, sitting them down. "And just butter."

Tony and Morgan frown at Pepper. That was not very nice. A few moments later, they were all done eating. Morgan looked at her mother. "May I leave the counter now?" Morgan asked. 

"You may," replied Pepper smiling at her daughter.

Once Morgan was gone, Pepper looked over to Tony. He was not smiling now. "Pepper, I know what you are going to say, but this is hard for me. You know how much I hate Christmas. I love Morgan and will do this for her, but not you. We have to get through this," Tony told her.

Pepper nodded. "We do, then we can tell her," said Pepper.

It hurt Tony to lie to his daughter, but there was not much he could do at the moment. He did not want to ruin her Christmas. "Ok," Tony starting to go over to the sink and wash the dishes.

Quickly, Pepper stood up, grabbing her phone as she did so. "Now, you have fun with Morgan and do not cause any trouble," said Pepper leaving. 

While Pepper took off and after the dishes were done, Tony went to get the boxes out. After that was done, Tony went to check on Morgan. She was in her room playing. "Hey, Princess, you ready to go get the living room sat up?" Tony asked her. 

She nodded her head as she picked up her toys. Morgan then ran from the room, giving her father a big smile. "Come on, Daddy. We have a tree to put up," Morgan called back to him.

Tony strolled from the room. He wanted to savor these moments while he could. Who knew what would happen after the new year. "I am coming," Tony yelled back.

Soon they had boxes open and was looking through them. "Are mommy and you having problems?" asked Morgan, looking up to her father.

He shook his head. "It is nothing you need to worry about Princess. Everything will work out," Tony stated.

"It is about the new baby that will be here soon, isn't it?" Morgan asked.

Tony shook his head again. "It is not, Morgan, and I rather not talk about it. Let's get this over with," he said, pinching his nose. 

He then leaned in to hug Morgan. "I love you 3000," said Morgan.

"I love you more," Tony replied. 

A few hours later, Tony and Morgan hadn't gotten far. "Barnes and Rogers are here," F.R.I.D.A.Y. told Tony.

"Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y," replied Tony.

When Steve Rogers enter the living room with his husband, James Barnes and Jamie, their one-year-old son, Tony Stark, was sitting on the floor. "Hello," he said, looking up from the box he was digging in.

They both gave him a look. "What are you doing?" asked Steve as he went to take a seat on the couch while Jamie was still in his arms.

He needed to put his feet up. Tony smirked at him as Morgan spoke up. "Grandpa Steve, we are putting up a Christmas tree."

Bucky, on the other hand, went to sit on the floor. He appeared to look in the box. "I can see," Bucky replied. 

Once taking a look around the room, Steve could see the mess. "So what changed, Tony? You always hated Christmas," Steve said to Tony.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing really beside having Morgan. I want her to know what Christmas is even she will not know the real meaning," Tony told Steve with a smile on his face.

Tony was an atheist who did not believe in God or what Christians believe to be the true meaning of Christmas. But, he did want her to know that it was the season for giving and enjoying time with family. "I can get behind that," said Steve.

Bucky had a frown on his face. He knew Tony, but not as well as the others. The man was Jewish, so while he saw where Tony was coming from, he felt Morgan should know about it all. He was not going to question Tony, though. "Thanks, Steve," Tony said as he went back digging in the box. 

Morgan smiled at Bucky as she dug through the box. "Dad needs help putting up the Christmas Tree," said Morgan as she got out some lights.

Both men shared a look as Tony gave his daughter a look. "You know you are supposed to put up the tree first," Steve said jokingly to Tony.

He gave the nod as he stood up. Morgan smiled as she stood up as well. She went to take a drink of her drink as Tony pulled the Christmas Tree box over to them. "I know, Steve, but as you know, growing up, we did not have Christmas," spoke Tony.

Working quickly, he got the box open. Bucky smiled as he stood up to help. "Wow, sorry to hear that," said Bucky.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "It is alright," Tony stated. He smiled at Bucky. "Did you have Christmas growing up?"

Steve shook his head as Bucky spoke up. "Steve's ma was worked too much to have Christmas, and my family was Jewish, so we did not have Christmas, but Chanukah or more known as the Festival of Lights," Bucky said. 

All Tony could do was a nod. He didn't know much about the Jewish faith, but he was willing to learn at some point if needed. "That is cool. Sorry to hear that, Steve. As much as I do not want to do this because Christmas sucks to me, I am doing it for Morgan, who is beyond excited," Tony replied.

Steve nodded before looking over to Tony. "Are you alright? You seem out of it," Steve stated.

The man shook his head. "Everything is fine for now. Pepper and I are going through some stuff," replied Tony. He gave them both a look. "I rather not talk about it. No one not even Rhodes knows."

Bucky reaches over to pat Tony's leg, which Tony did not mind. "It's ok you do not have to talk about it, but we are here if you need us," stated Bucky.

He nodded at them as he stood up. "Would you guys like some hot chocolate or something?" Tony asked them as Morgan ran back into the room. 

She smiled at her father before she heard Steve speak. "We will both take tea," replied Steve.

Bucky gave the nod. "Tea it is then," Tony said, going over to the fridge. 

He got the tea out then two glasses. Tony started to pour them as Morgan came over. She smiled up at her father. "Can I help take them over to them?" asked Morgan.

Tony smiled down at Morgan. "You may, but be careful," Tony said to her.

She gave the nod before walking away with it. Morgan carefully took it over to Steve, who took it. "Thank you," he said.

Morgan smiled at him as she started to tickle Jamie. "Hi, Jamie. It's nice to see you. Do you want to come to play on the floor?" she asked him.

He gave her a look. "Well, how about we wait until the tree is up and everything is cleaned up," said Steve. Steve looked at the mess on the floor. "It's messy, and he could get hurt."

Morgan nodded at that. "Yea, it's better to be safe than sorry," she replied. 

So, Morgan went back over to the floor where her father and Bucky were at. She sat down. "You ready to get back to work?" Tony asked his daughter. 

She smiled as they sat to work. A few hours later, the three of them stood up and looked at their tree. Tony thought it was ugly just because there was so much on it. Bucky, on the other hand, thought it looked cute or somewhat lovely. Morgan loved it. "I love it," she stated. 

All Tony could do was shake his head as he walked away. He went to text Pepper. You could say Tony was getting worried about where she was at. 

Tony: Hey, Pepper, it's me. Where are you at?

Pepper: I went shopping, Tony. I needed a break, which gives Morgan and you time together.

Tony: It would not be so bad if it were not to do Christmas stuff. I am glad Steve and Bucky are here to help; otherwise, I do not think it would get done. I can not do this, Pepper. Christmas is what you do, not me.

Pepper: Suck it up and be a big boy.

Without getting angry, Tony put his phone down. Did Pepper not care about their daughter? Right at this moment, Morgan was so happy. She was showing Bucky and Steve the ornaments that she made. He could hear her laugh, as well. "Is mommy coming home?" Morgan asked, looking over to her father.

She was not stupid at all. Morgan knew he went to text her mother. "I do not know, Princess. She is busy shopping," Tony told her.

Steve and Bucky shared a look. But it was Steve that spoke up. "Pepper knows you hate Christmas, but she has you here doing this all by yourself."

All Tony could do was a nod. He felt like crying. Things were terrible, but he did not realize they were this bad. "Do not worry. We are here," said Bucky with a frown on his face. 

"I know," snapped Tony.

He did not mean to snap, but it had just come out. Because one thing Tony was not going to do was snap at Pepper. "Let's calm down for Morgan's sake," Steve said.

Steve noticed that Morgan was beginning to look upset. "You are right, and I am sorry," replied Tony.

The two men shared a look. "If it is alright, we can watch Morgan so you can get rest or go out," Bucky said to Tony.

The man shook his head. "One of us has to be here with Morgan. It is a rule that Pepper has," Tony stated.

"That is bull," said Steve.

Bucky nodded his head. "So, no one can watch Morgan?" Bucky asked.

The man nodded his head. "She rather not have anyone watch her. Even Peter can not, and she likes him," Tony said. 

He went to sit on the couch, looking at them. Steve handed Jamie off to Bucky before going to sit next to Tony. "Hey, Tony, it is gonna be alright," Steve stated. 

Tony shook his head as he leaned into Steve. He started to cry, so Morgan came over to him. "Daddy, I love you 3000. Mommy is a pain sometimes," Morgan stated.

All the adults laughed at that. "That is true, Princess, and I love you too. It is going to be ok now, Morgan. Do not worry," Tony stated. 

Morgan climbed up on to her dad's lap. He smiled down at her. "Ok, I will not worry, daddy," Morgan told him.

She gave him a big hug, and he let go of Steve. "Sorry for the wet shirt," Tony said as he looked down at it.

Steve let out a chuckle. "It is alright, Tony. Jamie has done worse to my shirts, so you get them wet with tears is not so bad," replied Steve.

He was not upset at all. This time, Steve was going to be there for Tony as much as they could. They were friends again, and Steve knew that Tony was going through a lot. "Steve is right. Jamie loves to spit upon shirts," Bucky said as he walked over with Jamie.

Bucky sat his cup down on the end table after he finished it off. Tony let out a chuckle. "I bet. Morgan was like that as well," Tony stated.

Everyone laughed but Morgan. "Daddy, I was?" she asked him. 

He nodded as he tickled her a bit. "Are you excited to be a big sister?" Steve asked her.

Morgan looked over to him as Tony continued to tickle her. "I am. I hope he or she enjoys Christmas just like I do," Morgan told Steve. 

She leaned into Tony and fell asleep, which lead Tony to kiss her forehead. He was worn out right now. "Are you excited, Tony?" Steve asked. 

He shook his head. "I am not excited at all," Tony stated.

Standing up, Tony laid Morgan on the couch. She would be fine sleeping there. Tony gathered up the cup then went to the kitchen to put them in the sink. "Care to talk about it?" Bucky asked him.

While Tony did not want to talk about it, he knew it could not hurt. "Well, Pepper said Morgan was getting older, and she wanted to have another child. I told her Morgan was enough for me," was all Tony said.

Steve shook his head. "Did she go off birth control?" asked Steve.

There was a nod as Tony started to wash the dishes. "She did. I asked her about it after she told me that she was pregnant. Pepper came clean about the truth," stated Tony. 

Steve went over to help Tony wash the dishes. He took a bowl then started to dry it with a towel that he picked up. "I am sorry to hear that, Tony. It has been hard for us since I found out that I was pregnant again. Sure we wanted more kids, but not this close together. Jamie is only a year old," Steve told Tony, who nodded.

"Thanks, Steve. I understand. I could get happy about it like Pepper says I should," Tony started, but Bucky cut him off.

"You do not have to be excited about it, Tony. Sure, you will love the kid no matter what since it is yours, but other than that, you do not have to be excited about it."

Steve smiled at that. "Bucky is right. You will grow to love the child, but it does not mean that you have to be excited. Having a child is a big deal," said Steve.

He smiled at them as he finished up the dishes and went to sit in a chair. "You guys are right. Could you two tell me how you are dealing with this?" asked Tony.

Bucky and Steve shared a look before nodding. "We are taking it one day at a time," Steve said.

"Also, we spend as much time as we can with Jamie right now. Now that Steve is in his fourth month, things have gotten better," Bucky stated. 

That was good to hear, at least. Tony gave them another smile. "Thank you, both," he replied.

While that was going on, Pepper was out with someone. She was not shopping like she had told Tony. Sitting her bags down that Pepper had gotten to cover her ass when she got home, Pepper sat down. A smile was plastered on her face as she smiled at the man from across her. "I have missed you," Pepper started.

The man reached across to take her hand. "I have missed you too, Pepper. My wife does not know I am here," said Ross with a smile on his face. 

Pepper smirked at that. She loved it when they got to spend time together. "Well, if you could hold on, Ross. I need to call home and check-in," replied Pepper.

Ross gave her a nod. "I can," he told her.

Taking out her phone, Pepper dialed Tony's number. "Hey baby, I am going to be out a little longer, but I wanted to check in on Morgan," Pepper said in a sweet voice to butter him up. 

Tony nodded on the other end. "It's fine, Pepper. I know we need things for the baby," Tony stated. "Also, Morgan is asleep on the couch."

With a smiling her face, Pepper said, "At least she is good for you. I know she gets tired and needs a nap. I hope you got the tree up."

Switching his phone to the other ear, Tony told Pepper, "I have. Now I will let you get back to your shopping and come home soon. If you need Happy to pick you up, then call him."

"I will if I need him too," said Pepper as she hung up. 

Ross smiled at her. "Is everything good at home?" he asked her.

She nodded at him. "It is Ross," she replied.

He gave her a look. "And Tony does not know that the kid is not his?" Ross asked her.

Pepper shook her head as she looked down at the menus. "He does not at all. Tony thinks it is his. I have played my part well. Soon we should be able to run off together," Pepper said.

It was something that Ross was pleased about because he loved Pepper dearly or so he thought. He did not realize the hold she could have on one man. Add in the fact that he was using her for sex as well, even if he did love her. "That is good to hear. Keep up the good work," Ross told her.

She smiled at him as she looked up. They leaned into kissing each other. A moment later, their waitress walked up to them. "May I get the lovely couple something to drink?" she asked them. 

Pepper gave her a look. "I will have sweet tea," she said as Ross spoke. "Same for me. 

While the waitress noticed who Pepper was, she knew better than to say a word. "I will get your drinks and be right back," she said, walking away quickly. 

Ross gave Pepper another kiss. "I can not believe that Tony is falling for this," Ross stated.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Pepper said, "I do not think he is. Tony wants this to work out for Morgan's sake."

It was a lie. Tony was ready to tell Morgan that they were having problems, and things were not looking so hot. "Well, maybe Tony is in denial because he does not want it to end. He loves you," said Ross smiling at her.

Pepper once again shrugged her shoulders. She did not care if Tony loved her or not. In her eyes, Tony had not shown her that he loved her. With the baby that is not his, she thought it would bring them together, but it tore them farther apart. "I highly doubt that, because it's only because of Morgan that he wants it to work," she told Ross.

Once again, it was a lie but did Pepper care no. She would do anything to get what she wanted. The waitress smiled at them as she came over to them. "Here are your drinks," she stated. She then gave them a look. "Can I get you anything to eat?"

Quickly looking down at the menus, Ross said, "I will have the all you can eat platter."

He glanced over to Pepper, who smiled up at him. "I will have a salad," said Pepper, who was watching her weight even if she was eight months pregnant. 

Pepper did not want to gain to much weight this time. She smiled over at the waitress. The waitress smiled at her back. "I will get your food order in," she said. 

She quickly walked away before she had to deal with them again. Pepper and Ross spent the rest of their lunch talking about whatever they could think of, and then it was time to leave. "I best get home. Morgan will be worried about where I am at," said Pepper.

Ross gave the nod as he hugged her. "I had fun, Pepper," said Ross.

Pepper hugged him back. She gave him a quick kiss. "I have to go now, but I will call you later," said Pepper.

All Ross could do was a nod. He had a feeling that she would not call at all. They waved goodbye to each other before going to their cars. Pepper got in her car then sent a text to Tony. 

Pepper: I am heading home now. Please give Morgan kisses and hugs until I get back. 

Tony: Pepper, I promise I will. Morgan woke up about two hours ago. I do not want to fight, but now it is four o'clock, and you are never out this late. Morgan will want to spend time with you, but you will be too tired to do so.

Pepper: Tony drop it. It is no big deal. I needed a break, and I got one. It does not kill you to watch our daughter.

Tony saw a bit of red. He was not going to scream or yell, but he would respond.

Tony: This is the five-time this week you have gone out, Pepper. Not to mention the times you come home just so that you can go back out. 

Pepper: Tony, can we not do this now. We can wait until I get home and after I have a nap.

Tony: Sure.

He did not say much more to Pepper because there was not anything to say. Letting out a sigh, Tony looked to Morgan. "That was mommy. She is on her way home, but she is tired. Mommy said she was going to take a nap when she got home," Tony told Morgan, who pouted. 

"But, I want to spend time with mommy," said Morgan.

Morgan understood why her mother was tired all the time, but it still hurt. "I know, princess. It has been a long day for her, and with your brother or sister on the way, it is only going to get longer. Steve can tell you," said Tony.

Steve gave the nod. "It is true. I get tired a lot after a long day," he replied.

All she could do was give the nod as she went to her room. Morgan went to lay on her bed to cry it out. Tony looked at them. "What do I do?" asked Tony.

"Maybe tell her the truth, Tony. She has a right to know," said Steve looking at him.

Tony gave the nod. "I know Steve, but I am not sure that I can. It is gonna hurt her," Tony replied as Bucky gave him a look. 

"While it is true she will be hurt over this, do you think she will be more hurt when she finds out that you guys hid this from her. Morgan is a smart girl," Bucky stated. 

Tony nodded again before getting up. He walked his phone over to the charger and plugged it up. "You are right. It sucked when you did not tell me the truth, Steve, and now I am lying to my daughter. I hate it," Tony stated.

Bucky smiled at him. "Then change it, Tony. Pepper may not like it, but it is not about her. It is about a little girl that is going to get hurt either way," Bucky said, speaking the truth. 

Jamie started to fuss since he was getting tired. "Is there someplace I can lay him down?" asked Steve taking him from Bucky.

"Yes, upstairs and to your left. The nursery is set up. Jamie can sleep in there," Tony said.

Steve smiled as he walked up the stairs. Once Steve was gone, Tony turned to look at Bucky. "How are you doing with all of this?" asked Tony.

With a sigh, Bucky took a seat on a stool. "Some days are better than others. It has has been very hard. Steve has been great through it all, though. When I need a break, he gives it to me," replied Bucky smiling. 

Tony nodded. "Pepper and I do not work that well together," Tony told him. He had a frown on his face. "She never really gave me a break and always complained about things. Pepper said since she gave birth to her, it was my job to raise her. She did all the hard work."

"Well, it takes work, but Steve and I figured it out. It helps that we have known each other for a long time," Bucky stated. "It will get better, and that sucks big time. It takes a village to raise a kid. You can not and should not do this all by yourself."

With a smile, Tony said, "Can I tell you something?"

Bucky nodded. "You may, Tony. I have open ears," Bucky said.

Tony grinned at that. "Pepper and I are divorced. Morgan does not know it. We are just pretending to be together for her. Also, I know Pepper is cheating on me," Tony said with a sad smile.

Bucky gave him a look. "You are surely taking this well, Tony," Bucky replied. He frowns. "If it were me, then I would have done lost it."

"It is only because of Morgan, or else I would have done drunk my self to drink," Tony yelled without meaning too as Steve came back down the stairs. "She is the reason that I am staying sane right at the moment."

"Is everything ok?" asked Steve, sitting down. 

Tony shook his head as Bucky spoke since Tony couldn't repeat it. "Pepper is cheating on Tony, and they are divorced. The thing is, Pepper does not know that Tony knows this. "

He stood up to hug Tony, but the man told him to sit down. "It is ok, Steve. I do not need a hug right now. You can always hug me later."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is cheating in this chapter, so if you don't like it, you may skip it. The ship doesn't make sense, but Pepper wanted to hurt Tony bad. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

While driving home, Pepper thought to stop off and get Morgan a treat. She knew that Morgan would enjoy some cookies and burgers. She figured it would not take that long to get. Sending a quick text to Tony, Pepper said: I am getting cookies and burgers for Morgan. Do you need anything?

Tony replied: No, thanks. Get home as soon as you can. I am sure Morgan will love that. She wants her mommy home now.

With a smile on her face, Pepper went into the drive of McDonald's to order Morgan's burger and thought to pick one up for Tony even if they were fighting. After getting her order, Pepper pulled out. She put Nat on speed dial this way she could talk as she drove." Nat speaking," said Nat.

Pepper let out a little chuckle at that. They were good friends, but Nat did not know what was going on with her and Tony yet." Hello, Nat. It is good to hear your voice," Pepper said. 

"Are you calling for a favor?" asked Nat.

There was a sigh as Pepper spoke. "Yes, I am. Tony and I need a break from Morgan before the baby comes. I was wondering if you could watch her?" Pepper asked. 

Pepper would do whatever it took to get Nat to watch Morgan. It was Nat's turn to sigh. "You know I can not. Bruce and I are busy working. Right at this moment, we are giving care to three sick kids and their parents," Nat replied.

It bugged Pepper that Nat was putting this first over their friendship. She could not believe it at all. "I understand that is important to you, but Tony and I could use you," Pepper said.

Nat shook her head as she took a drink of coffee. "Are Steve and Barnes there?" she asked.

The woman could not bring herself to call him Bucky or James yet. "Yes, but you know I do not trust him because of his past. He could kill my daughter for all I know," Pepper stated.

All Nat could do was a sigh. She did not want to go at all. "Well, I guess I could come, but it would not be for a few days. I have to check with Bruce," replied Nat.

Pepper let out a sigh. "Thanks, Nat. I will owe you a big one on this. See you in a few days," Pepper said, hanging up. 

As soon as Pepper got off the phone with Nat, she decided to take a detour. It was a beautiful day for a drive, even if it was cold out. While out driving, Peter made it to the house. "Hey," Peter called out.

There was a smile on Tony's face. As the boy well, not so much boy, was in his first year of College. He walked into the room with a smile on his face. Tony looked at him. "Pepper is not going to be happy about the clothes being here. She thinks you should do your laundry," Tony said, standing up to hug Peter.

Peter returned it real quick. "I know, but I hardly have time to do it at College. Besides, Aunt May does not mind. She says it brings me home more," Peter stated.

Tony nodded at that. "I agree Peter," Tony replied. 

They hugged again before Peter and Tony let up. Tony went back to his seat at the counter, while Peter looked around the room. "So, I see you have put the Christmas tree up," said Peter. 

Tony grinned. "Yep, with Morgan's and Bucky's help," replied Tony. He smiled a bit bigger. "So, how is college?"

Peter smiled at Tony as he looked over to Bucky and Steve. "Good. Wow, how did I not see them as I came in," Peter stated?

With a chuckle, Steve said, "You were so excited to see Tony, Peter."

The young boy gave the nod. "True, true," Peter said as he walked over to the give the two men a hug. 

He smiled at them. Things were great between the three of them. "How are classes, Peter?" asked Bucky with a big smile on his face. 

Peter beamed. "Classes are good or most of them anyway. Some are boring, but that's because they are not challenging enough," spoke Peter. "Where is Jamie?"

While the young boy had not met the little boy yet, he knew a lot about him. Steve smiled at him. "You can meet him later, Peter. Jamie is taking a nap now," said Steve grinning. 

Peter nodded at that. "Cool, I can not wait to meet the little guy that I have heard so much about," Peter told Steve as he walked over to the fridge.

Tony gave him a look. "I know you must be hungry, but I am sure there is a little girl that would love to see you," Tony stated to Peter.

The young man nodded. "I will go see her in a moment as soon as I get some food to take with me," Peter stated. 

Digging in the fridge, Peter found some food then ran with it up the stairs as Tony shook his head. "I love the kid, but sometimes he can be crazy," Tony stated.

Steve nodded at that. "He can be," said Steve. "But he is a good kid."

With a grin, Tony went to sit on the couch. A few hours later, around seven, they sat down to eat. Pepper still had not made it back. So, while everyone dug into eat, Tony called Pepper. "Hey, Pepper, it is me, Tony. I was wondering where you were at."

He could not do much more than leaving a voicemail, which sucked big time. "Pepper, not answering?" asked Steve.

Tony nodded at that. He put his phone down and started to eat. Right at this moment, he did not want to worry Morgan at all. "Where is mommy?" Morgan asked, looking up from her food.

She hadn't been eating much. It was more like she was playing with her food. "Morgan, I am sure that she got caught up in something. Sometimes mommy needs a break," Tony told her as Steve gave him a look. "Steve, cool it."

Steve smiled at him. "Sorry, Tony, but maybe you should tell Morgan a little bit about what is going on," Steve said.

Everyone looked at him. "Why is that? I do not want to worry her," Tony replied.

"I know, but I am sure she would understand," said Steve. "But, if you do not want to, then I understand."

Tony nodded at that. "Morgan, mommy, and I are having problems. She needed a break from daddy right now. Mommy loves you and always will," Tony told her. 

All Morgan could do was a nod. "So, mommy went out to take a break from you?" asked Morgan.

Tony smiled at her as he took a bite of his food. "She did, Princess. I am sure she will be back soon," Tony stated as Happy came into the room.

Looking up, Tony looked over to Happy, who wasn't smiling. "Pepper wanted me to give this to Morgan and you. She says she will not be home until tomorrow. Morgan, she says she loves you," Happy told the little girl.

Morgan ran from the room while she started to cry. Tony took the bag from Happy. "Thanks, Happy," said Tony getting up, but Peter stood up.

"Can I go, Mr. Stark? She may listen to me rather than you right now," Peter said.

Tony smiled at Peter. "Sure, Peter. You may have better luck as you said," stated Tony sitting back down. 

He rubbed his head as Happy left the room. Since Happy was not needed anymore, he was going to leave. Peter ran up the stairs. He looked in Morgan's room, which she was not there at all. So, he walked down the hall and found her in the nursery. Morgan was looking at Jamie. "Hey, Morgan," Peter said to her.

Morgan looked around real quick before going back to look at Jamie, who was awake. "I want to be left alone," Morgan said.

Peter nodded at her. "I know you do, Morgan. Your mother is not home, and you want her home, but at least she will be home in the morning. We do not know why she is not home yet," said Peter.

"Her and daddy are having problems. She is mad at daddy for some reason," Morgan stated as she started to tickle Jamie, who laughed.

Peter frown before getting closer to the two of them. "Oh, well, those problems can work themselves out," said Peter with a smile on his face trying to be upbeat for Morgan. 

He did not want her to know things may not work out as she would like. "Thanks, Peter," she said as she hugged him. 

Steve smiled as he walked into the room. "I see Jamie is awake," Steve stated.

Morgan gave him the nod. "He is, Grandpa Steve," replied Morgan. 

Walking over to them, Steve picked up Jamie, who held his hands out. The boy smiled at his mommy or daddy. "Hi, Jamie, did you have a nice nap?" Steve asked, even if he knew the boy would not answer yet.

"I am sure he did," Morgan replied for him.

Steve nodded as Jamie leaned into him. "I best get him downstairs for some food," said Steve leaving the room. 

They giggled as Steve left the room. Peter smiled at Morgan. "What do you say we go make a fort downstairs and sleep in it?" asked Peter.

That is all it took for Morgan to get happy. She ran from the room. Morgan went to her room to get what they would need. She then ran down the stairs. Tony looked at her as she came into the kitchen. "Where is the fire?" Tony asked her.

She ran over to him. "Peter wants to make a fort, then we can sleep in it," Morgan said, going a mile a minute.

Tony chuckled at that. "Well, then get right on it, Princess. Please do not let me stop you," said Tony as Peter came down the stairs. 

"Did Morgan tell you what we are going to do?" Peter asked the room at large.

Bucky smiled at Peter. "Yes, she did, or she told Tony anyways. It is good to see you, Peter," Bucky told him.

He smiled back at Bucky. "It is good to see you as well, Bucky. Jamie is getting so big," said Peter as Morgan ran back over.

"Are you going to help me, Peter?" she asked him.

Peter gave the nod as he went over to the living room. He started to put up the blankets after putting up some poles. Morgan looked at him. "You are not doing it right," she told him.

Sometimes Morgan could be like her mother Pepper and get a little bossy. "Then, why not show me?" asked Peter.

Morgan gave the nod before going to get her burger to eat. While she was eating, she put the blankets on the poles then finished making sure they were right. "See, that is how you do it," Morgan stated as everyone else came into the room.

Everyone smiled at her, even if they wanted to let out a chuckle. It was messy, but who cared. Morgan was happy at the moment, and that is all that matters. "Princess, why don't you go get some pillows and stuff that you will need," said Tony.

A moment later, his phone rang as Morgan ran from the room. "I have to take this," said Tony looking down at it. 

It was Pepper, and he wondered what was going on. He walked out of the room and went out onto the porch. It was a beautiful night out, and the moon was shining bright. "Hey, Pepper," Tony said, answering it.

On the other end, Pepper was not smiling. She was tired and worn out. "Did Happy tell you that I will not be home until tomorrow?" she asked him.

Tony nodded. "Yes, he did. Morgan was upset, so I told her that we were having problems but that you still loved her," Tony told her.

"Tony, I thought we talked about this. I did not want her to know until after Christmas," yelled Pepper. 

She let out a sigh. Tony let out a sigh as well. "Pepper, if you were home more than things would not be so bad. She misses you, and I did not want to lie to her anymore," Tony stated. 

Rubbing her forehead, Pepper said, "I am sorry, Tony. Well, maybe not sorry that I am not home much, but I am sorry that I miss time out with Morgan, but you know I run SI." 

Tony wanted to slam his phone down. "Do you think that I do not that, Pepper. But would it kill you to come home to see your daughter?" Asked Tony.

With a sigh, Pepper said, "We will talk more tomorrow when I get home."

She hung up, not waiting for a reply as Tony through his phone down. Steve came outside. "Is everything alright?" He asked Tony.

He knew the answer to that, but he thought he would ask anyway. "It is not Steve. You know how bad it is now, I think I made it worse," replied Tony. 

Steve shook his head. "This is not on you, Tony. You are trying. Pepper is to blame here," Steve said, hugging Tony. 

He nodded at Steve. "Thanks, Steve," Tony stated, returning the hug. 

They both looked up to the stars. "It sure is a nice night out. I forgot how beautiful New York City could be at night," Steve told him as Bucky came out.

He smiled at them both. "Peter and Morgan are in the fort reading some books. He is keeping her busy so that she does not think about her mother not being here," Bucky stated as he walked over to them. "Jamie went back to sleep."

Tony let out a laugh. "I am glad that you guys are here plus Peter. I have no idea what I would do if I were here alone," Tony said. 

"You would be fine, or at least you would be until Morgan went to sleep. I know you, Tony, even if we have not known each other long. For Morgan's sake, you would stay strong," Bucky replied. 

Tony smiled at that. "Thanks, I need to hear that. Now, if you both excuse me, I am going to bed," Tony stated as he walked back inside.

He went to lay down. Steve and Bucky shared a look before Bucky spoke up. "Who else knows about this? Tony needs his friends right now," Bucky stated.

"I am not sure. I do not think Tony told anyone, and if he did, then I do not remember him saying anything about it. Right now, we should not say a word until Tony is ready to tell everyone," said Steve.

Bucky gave the nod as he pulled Steve close. "We should get to bed as well. I bet you are tired," Bucky told Steve, who smiled at him.

"I am," replied Steve. 

As they went to bed, Peter and Morgan stay up. They had fun most of the night before falling asleep. Once morning came, everyone got up. Nat, on the other hand, hated to wake Bruce up, but it needed to be done. She walked over to his bed. "Bruce time to wake up," she said as she banged a pot.

Bruce quickly woke up. "Yes," he replied, looking at her as he rubbed his eyes. 

She gave him a look. "We have a problem, Bruce," she told him.

Bruce sat up as quick as he could. "What is our problem?" asked Bruce as he got up and put a shirt on over his other shirt. 

With a frown, Nat walked from his room. She did not want to say much here where they could be overheard. After they got into the kitchen or the small kitchen, Nat started to speak. "Pepper needs me to go back to New York."

Bruce gave her a look. "Is everything alright?" He asked, fearing the worse.

"Well, I am not sure, but everyone is fine," Nat stated. 

Giving her another look, Bruce asked, "What are you not telling me, Nat?"

She gave him a look as she started to get some food out to cook or for Bruce to cook. Nat was not that great of a cook. "Here are some eggs, Bruce. Pepper wants me to come back to New York to watch Morgan because Tony and her need a break before the baby comes," said Nat.

Bruce took the eggs from then got out a pan after he sat them down. "Is Steve and James there? Also, I thought Peter was coming as well," Bruce stated as he started to crack an egg. 

Once that was going, Bruce kept watch on it. He flipped it after a few moments. Bruce did look back at her as Nat began to speak. "She does not trust Barnes yet. I am not sure if Peter is there yet."

Bruce shook his head as Nat brought a plate over. "That is stupid, and would you like one or two eggs?" Bruce asked her. 

"Two please," Nat stated, not saying anything about it being stupid. 

He got another egg on before speaking again. "Are you gonna go? I have enjoyed having your help here. It has been nice to talk to someone about being asexual and work through all of our issues."

Nat sighed as she sat at the table with the plate. She ate the one egg while she waited on the other egg to be done. "I am, Bruce, but I told her I had to talk to you first, and I also told her it would be a few days before I could come," said Nat. 

Bruce nodded as he brought her egg over. He then walked back over to the stove and started to scramble his eggs after breaking them. "Well, do what you need to," Bruce said.

He did not say much more after that. Bruce was not going to make her stay, nor was he going to tell her to go. Nat looked over to Bruce. "Bruce, you know I would not go if I did not have too. Pepper needs me, and as you said, you are asexual," Nat told him.

Bruce let out a sigh as he came to sit down. "Well, then go, Nat. Pepper needs you. I am asexual, but that does not mean that I do not need someone, Nat. It seemed like we were working through everything. It is not like I want to date you, but I need a friend here," said Bruce. He wore a frown on his face. "Nat, you have to do what you think is best, but I would love it if you stayed."

She started to see red. "You have friends back in New York, Bruce. Your life is not here," Nat yelled.

Giving her a look, Bruce spoke quietly. "Yes, I have friends there, but I built a life here for myself, Nat. The people here need me, and the Hulk loves it here. I can not up and leave them."

Throwing her plate in the sink, Nat stormed out of the room. She could hear the plate shattered. "But, you sure could leave us behind," yelled Nat. 

Bruce shook his head as he went to clean it up. He let out a sigh as a young woman came in. "Dr. Banner, it's time," she said.

He nodded his head as he put his food away. Bruce could hear Nat packing. "I will be right there," he told her.

The young woman gave the nod. Bruce walked into Nat's room. Looking up from her bag, Nat stared at him. "Bruce, look, I do not want to leave this way, but I need to go. You said your life is here, so stay here," Nat stated as she picked up her bag.

She zipped it real quick before walking past him. "I have to go now, Nat, but I will try to come back to New York if I can," said Bruce. 

Bruce had hoped that she understood, but Nat didn't, or she was not showing it. "Whatever, Bruce," Nat said.

She left as did Bruce. Nat cared deeply for Bruce, but she knew there could never be anything between them. It would never work out. She was sorry, but it was the truth. Nat pulled out her phone to call Pepper, but Pepper called her first. "I hope it is good news," Pepper said in a cheerful voice.

Nat was holding her emotions in. As much as she did not want to date, Bruce, she was still his friend, and maybe that was ruined now. "It is, Pepper. I am going back to New York," said Nat, and in an after the tone, she said, "alone."

It hurt, but it would all work out. "That is great," Pepper told her. 

Pepper had not heard that part, or she was choosing to ignore it. "Thanks, Pepper. I am happy to watch Morgan for you," she said. 

That was the truth. Pepper loved Morgan very well. "I will see you when you get here," said Pepper hanging up.

She saw no reason to stay on the line longer than she had too. Nat frown as she got into the car that was waiting for her. She put her seat belt on, then leaned her head back. "To the airport," said the man.

Nat just nodded, not trusting her voice. She let the tears fall. It seemed like they had a good thing going being friends who could share anything. She and Clint had that, but now Bruce and she may not have that. "Hang in there, Miss. It will get better. Things have a way of working out," he told her.

About 8 hours later, she was on the plane and back in New York. She smiled as she stepped off the plane. There to greet her was Clint. He had this awful red hat with a big bow on, and his clothes looked like he was living on the street. "Hey, Nat," he said, moving in to hug her.

Nat returned the hug. "So, how did you know to meet me here?" she asked him.

He smiled at her. "Well, if my best friend needs me, then I am going to be here," he said. She gave him a look. "Ok, Bruce told me."

"So, Bruce called you," said Nat.

Clint nodded at her. "He did, but only because he was worried about you. Do you wanna talk about it?" asked Clint as they walked to get her bag. 

She leaned into him. Clint had a way to make things all better. He gave her the biggest hug he could as they came up to the bag line. Nat started to look for her's. "I rather not right now. It is a mess," Nat said as she watched some more. "It is a small brown bag."

Clint smiled at her. "That is fine, we can talk about it whenever you want," Clint stated, but seeing the look on her face, Clint said something else. "Or we do not have too."

"Thanks, Clint. So how is the family?" she asked as she grabbed her bag.

He beamed some more. "Copper is amazing. He loves building stuff. Lila loves to shoot bows and arrows when she is not drawing. Nate loves to follow his siblings around to annoy them," Clint told her.

Nat let out a chuckle. "I have trained him well," Nat said, which earned a stare from Clint. 

"You have, Nat. Laura wants to thank you for that, by the way. She thinks it is fun," Clint stated as they walked out of the airport. He gave her a big smile. "I brought my truck."

There was a groan from Nat. It was a beat-up truck with rust on it. She was not thrilled about riding in it. Now while Nat was not fancy, she did like to ride in sweet things. "Thanks, Clint, for picking me up and being here for me. I still hate that truck, though," she told him.

He smiled back at her. "It is not a problem, Nat. Your my friend and that's what friends do. What do you say we get this show on the road," Clint said.

Nat nodded as she got in the truck after Clint opened the door for her. He then went around the truck and got in. She let out a groan as he started up the truck. "Can you listen to anything besides kids tunes?" she asked him.

With a quick nod, Clint turned the disk off then turned the radio on. It was older music, but Nat did not mind too much. "Is this better?" he asked.

Nat sighed. "Not really, but I will deal. Steve would love this," Nat stated.

Clint smiled as he pulled out of the parking spot. "He would," said Clint. 

They drove on in silence. It was starting to get dark out. "Clint, can I ask you something?" Nat asked.

Clint gave the nod. "Sure you can," Clint stated as he turned the radio down.

"Are you happy with Laura and your life?" she asked him.

He nodded as he drummed his hands on the wheel. "Of course, I am. I would not trade my life for anything," Clint told her. He gave her a look. "What is bringing this on, Nat? Is it because you can not have sex with Bruce.

Nat glared at him. "It has nothing to do with Bruce, ok. I am over him. Also, who cares if we can have sex? I loved Bruce for who he was and not for the sex we could have had," Nat stated.

All Clint could do was a nod. "Right, Nat, then talk to me. We have not talked a good talk in a while," Clint said.

She really could not talk to anyone about this, but if she was going to then, she wanted Steve or Bucky. Maybe they could help her better than Clint could. The man was happily married, after all. "Clint, I can not talk to you about this. I need someone who will get it," she stated.

With another nod, Clint got it. He knew he wasn't good at these things, so it was good to go to someone else. "I get it, Nat. I still love you, though," said Clint. 

She smiled at him. "And I still love you too," she replied. 

They drove the rest of the way in silence with Clint, only saying something a few moments later when Clint felt the need to say something. "We should let them know we are on our way. It is the polite thing to do, and I am sure that Tony would want to know for real. You know how he hates surprises." 

Nodding Nat called Tony, who picked up on the first ring. She knew very well how much he hated surprises. "Hello," he said. 

Nat smiled at that. "Hey, Tony, Clint and I are almost at your place," she told him.

Shaking his head, Tony groaned. He was tired and didn't want more guess at his place. It was crowded as it was. "Nat, I love you, but do you think you could stay somewhere else?" asked Tony.

Nat shook her head. "We could, but Pepper said that you two needed a break, so I am going to watch Morgan for the two of you," Nat stated.

Without getting angry at Nat, Tony spoke quietly. "Pepper has not been home since yesterday, Nat. Plus, she did not tell me about this," Tony stated. Tony did look at her. "She has not told me anything lately. We do not talk."

Nat shook her head as did Clint. He could hear every word. "I am sorry, Tony. I did not realize that. What if we came by and stayed the night then we can leave in the morning to a new place," Nat told him. She smiled at that thought. "I promise we will not stay that long."

Rubbing his forehead, Tony said, "That works, I guess. Steve will want to see you both. Plus, I thought you did not want to be around Barnes."

Groaning, Nat sighed. "I do not want to be around him, but I can deal with him, or at least this way, I can see Steve," she told Tony. 

"Well, then it is settled, Nat. You two can stay for the night then leave in the morning. I am sorry about this, Nat, but I am going through a lot right now. Peter is helping with Morgan," Tony stated.

With a smile, Nat said, "I understand, Tony. We are here for you even if we do not know the reason why."


	3. Chapter 3

Tony nodded on the end of the phone. "Thank you, Nat. Not many people know right now. Steve and James do," said Tony.

She smiled at him from her end of the phone. "It's cool, Tony. You do not have to tell us yet. We are almost there," she said.

He let out a sigh. Glad that certain things were out of the way now. "Ok, well, I am going to spend some time with Morgan and Peter. So, come on in when you get here," Tony stated.

A few moments later, they pulled out to the house then went in. Clint made sure to carry Nat's bag even if she was not happy about it. "Hey," Clint called out.

Steve appeared from the kitchen. "Hi," he said. He smiled at them both. "I am cooking dinner right now."

There was a big smile on Clint's face. "Good, I am starving," Clint stated as he went to sit on the couch.

"You are always hungry," Nat replied to Clint, who stuck his tongue out at her. 

He sat Nat's bag down. She followed his lead and sat on the couch as well. Clint looked down to the ground where Barnes was at with Jamie. He could see the man playing with a little boy. "This is Jamie?" Clint asked.

Steve nodded. "That is Jamie," Steve replied, stirring the food.

Smiling at Steve Nat said, "He is cute."

Steve smiled at that. "He sure is," was the reply she got. 

While Steve went back to cooking, Bucky smiled at Jamie. "Are you going to say hi?" he asked, taking the boy's hand so that he could wave.

Jamie smiled up at his dad as his little hand waved. "It is ok if he doesn't say hi," Nat told Barnes. 

She did not want to talk to Barnes, given their history. It was a rocky one at best and added in the fact that they use to date. Clint decided to speak up. "Can he walk yet?" 

Bucky sat up. "He can not, but he is starting to climb up, but not walk. Steve was a slow walker, as well. His ma said it took him a while to walk, but once he started, he did not stop. I am sure, Jamie will be the same way," Bucky said. 

As the two of them sat down, Clint spoke again. "That is cool. Lila was a late walker. Cooper was about right on time for the age to start walking. Nate was walking as soon as he could. But then I again I would not expect anything less from someone named after Nat."

"So, he takes after Nat?" Bucky said.

Clint nodded at Bucky. "Yep, he sure does," said Clint. 

She gave Clint a look. Clint stared right back at her. "Look, Clint, I know as a dad, you want to fix everything, but this is not something you can fix. Barnes and I have a history that can not be fixed. Now I am going to see Tony," she said as she jumped up.

Clint let out a sigh. "At least I tried," he said to the room at large.

Bucky smiled at him. "It is ok. Things are never going to be out between Natasha and me until we talk it out," Barnes stated. 

Finishing up the food then turning off the stove, Steve walked over to them. "Natasha needs time. She has been through a lot, and I bet it could not have been easy for her," said Steve. He smiled at them. "Plus, she is a private girl."

Clint nodded at that. "It has not. Things between Bruce and her are not looking good. Nat did not want to talk about it," Clint told them.

They nodded back at him. It was understandable that Nat did nor want to talk about that. She and Bruce were good friends who tried to be more. It seemed like it did not work out. Steve was not sure, though. They all had their own lives now. "It is ok, Clint. Give her space, and I am sure she will talk to you," spoke Steve as he walked back over to get plates. 

Grabbing out several plates, Steve made sure he had a good handle on them. Clint walked over to help. He got out some glasses. "I know, but it hurts to see her like this," Clint stated as he walked back over to put the glasses on the table.

He started to talk to Jamie. "How are you, little man? I hear you are getting big and I can see it. Soon you will be walking and talking."

Steve and Bucky shared a look. "Well, he is only one, Clint," replied Steve.

Letting out a chuckle, Clint went to get the juice out. "For now, he is one, but they grow up fast," Clint said back. 

He walked back over to the table with it and started to pour glasses. Meanwhile, upstairs, Nat walked into Morgan's bedroom. "Hey Tony," she said without knocking.

Tony jumped a bit. "Nat do not scare me like that," said Tony.

She smiled at him as she sat on the floor. "I will try not too. So how are you, Tony?" she asked him. 

He gave her a look. Right at this moment, Tony was not used to this many people caring. He did not realize how many people would be on his side. "I rather not talk right now, Nat, but thanks for caring," he replied. 

Nat leaned over and hugged him. "Hey, Tony, we care about you. Sure we all had our problems, and it may seem like we did not care, but we do," Nat said. She smiled at him as he returned the hug. "We all have problems that we need to work, though."

He nodded as Tony smiled back at her. "We do. I am glad that you are all here, even if I do not show it. I need you all. So care to tell me about Bruce and you?" Tony asked.

Nat spoke, not trusting herself to do much more. "It is over. Whatever we could have had will never happen. That is where I would like to leave it."

Tony frowned before giving her another hug. "I am sorry, Nat. I know how much you liked him," Tony said.

"Well, I do not think it was love at all, or if it was, it is not now," stated Nat. 

Peter spoke up then. "Aunt May says we often care about people and think it could be something more when it is not. Sometimes people are better off friends than much more."

Nat smiled at that. "You have a wise Aunt. Do not lose her, Peter," Nat said as Steve called up. "Dinner is done."

She looked at them. "We best go eat before Steve comes after us."

They nodded at her as they all got up. Morgan stayed close to her father as they walked down the stairs. She did not want to leave his side. "Daddy, when is mommy coming home?" she asked him. 

Tony did not know how to answer that. It was hard to say when she would be home. Pepper said that she would be back today, but he was not sure that she was going to be now. "Princess, I am sure that mommy will be home soon," Tony told her. 

Morgan pouted. "But, I want her home now," Morgan whined.

He knew this, and it hurt to see his daughter in this much pain, but there was not much Tony could do. "I can not promise that she will be home tonight or tomorrow, but I can guarantee that I will make sure that you have fun," Tony told her.

She smiled up at her daddy. "You are the best," said Morgan. 

Walking ahead of him, Morgan walked down the stairs. She was starving and wanted to go to sleep afterward. If her mom was not going to come home, then Morgan was not going to stay up to find out if she did. "Hey, Morgan, your mother will be back for you," Peter said with a smile on his face. "I am sure that she is busy."

Morgan did not care what the reason was, and she wanted her mother home now. "Ok, Peter," Morgan stated as she went to sit at the counter. "Hi Grandpa Steve, it looks great."

She dug right into the food. First, Morgan ate the green beans, then the mash potatoes, then the meatloaf. "Thank you, Morgan," said Steve. 

While that was going on, Bruce was fixing dinner for himself when someone walked into his house. Bruce looked up from the kitchen at the noise. His guard was up. "Relax, it's me, Bruce," said the man entering the kitchen. 

Bruce let his guard down. He smiled over at the man. "It is good to see you again. How are things going?" asked Bruce.

The man let out a sigh. "Not so great, Bruce. Things could be better. Do you think you could go back to New York soon?" he asked him.

Bruce gave the nod. "I can go back to New York for you, but not for anyone else. Is my work done here?" Bruce asked him. 

"It is, but you may stay if you like," said the man. He smiled at him. "I just need you back in New York within a couple of weeks."

He gave another nod. "Right now, I am working with people here. A lot of them are sick, and they need me," said Bruce.

While Bruce hated to work for people, he didn't mind helping this guy out. "I understand. We will see you soon in New York," said the man as he tipped his hat and left.

Bruce knew he had a lot to think about at the moment. No one knew what he was doing or who he was helping. All they knew was that Bruce needed space and time to himself. "Thanks for coming," Bruce said, knowing the man was long gone. 

Back in New York, Pepper sighed as she pulled up to the house. She did not want to go in, but she did not have a choice. Morgan would want to see her. She slowly got out of the car, then slowly walked up the path. Opening the door, Pepper walked in. "I am home," she called out.

Morgan ran over to her mother. She gave her a big hug. "Food is on the table, mommy, if you are hungry," Morgan stated.

Pepper returned the hug. She quickly glanced over there. Seeing Barnes sitting at the table, she decided to pass. "I am tired, Princess, but I will eat later," Pepper stated. 

Without saying a word to Tony, she walked up the stairs after letting go of Morgan. All Pepper wanted to do was to go lay down. Tony shook his head. "Morgan, you can help with Jamie while I go talk to your mother," Tony said.

Morgan gave the nod. "Ok, daddy," she replied.

She walked over to Jamie, who was being fed by Bucky. Morgan sat down to help feed Jamie while Tony walked up the stairs. He found Pepper in their shared bathroom or what use to be their shared bathroom. She gave him a look through the mirror. "Do not start, Tony. I am too tired tonight," Pepper said.

Tony looked at her. "I will not start anything, but Morgan needs you right now. I am sure she is wondering where you were. She missed you and asked when you were coming home," Tony stated.

She turned to look at Tony. "That is not my problem. I may be her mom, but you are her dad. You take care of Morgan, and I take care of this little one," she said, rubbing her stomach. "That is the way that it works."

Pepper stormed from the room. She was not going to put up with Tony tonight. While she knew she was a bitch, Pepper also knew in her eyes; Tony deserved it. "Pepper, that's not how it works, or at least that is not how Steve and Bucky do it," he said.

"We are not them," was her replied as she crawled into bed. 

Tony sighed as he went over to the bed. "Pepper, look at me," Tony said.

She turned to look at him. "Tony, there is nothing left for us. It is over, and you need to get over it. I am going to move out tomorrow. It is the best thing for us all. Morgan will be fine," said Pepper.

Her daughter was a strong one who could handle anything. Pepper was not worried about her at all. She was concerned about how Tony would take things. "Pepper, you know that is not true at all. She will not be fine," said Tony giving her a look. 

Pepper sighed. "Tony, I know you think everything is not going to be fine with Morgan, but she is a strong girl. I know my daughter. She will get over it," said Pepper. 

Now Tony let out a sigh. He knew Morgan was strong, but this was her mother, and he was not sure she would be fine. "Whatever you say, Pepper. I need to get back downstairs before Morgan worries any more," Tony told her.

He quickly left the room, not caring at the moment. Pepper did not need him at all. Tony walked down the steps, not caring if Pepper heard his footsteps or not. "Is everything alright, Tony?" asked Steve. 

Tony shook his head. "It isn't, but it will be. Pepper told me that she is moving out tomorrow," Tony said.

He did not mean to hurt Morgan, but he felt she had a right to know. Morgan ran from the room. She went up the stairs and threw herself on her bed. "It is not fair," said Morgan as Nat came into the room.

Nat wanted to check in on Morgan. She sat down on the bed and started to rub her back as Morgan cried. "Hey, Morgan, it is me, Nat. I wanted to see how you were doing right now," she said.

Morgan turned to look at her. "I want my mommy to stay here with daddy. Why do they have to fight?" asked Morgan looking at her. 

"I have no idea, Morgan, but I promise you this: I will always be there for you. What if we go get Ice Cream tomorrow?" Nat asked her.

Morgan perked up at that. "I would like that," she replied. 

No one did not know to say to Tony, so they did not say much that night. As Tony was getting ready for bed, Steve came over to him. "Hey, Steve. I take it, Jamie is asleep," Tony said.

Steve gave the nod as he sat down in one of the chairs. He was tired and wore out, but he wanted to spend some time with Tony before he went to bed. "He is. We got him down a moment ago. Bucky went on to bed," said Steve. 

Tony nodded as he laid a blanket down on the couch. "I can understand that. He must be tired," replied Tony.

"Yes, Bucky is. He gets wore out a lot. It takes a toll on him. Jamie is a wonderful little boy., but he can be a handful at times," said Steve as Tony looked over to him.

He smiled at Steve. "Can I ask you a question?" 

Steve smiled back at him. "You may, Tony," replied Steve.

Fluffing up his pillows, Tony asked, "Do you regret having Jamie?" 

The other man shook his head. "I don't. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we did not have Jamie and another on the way, but I wouldn't change it for the world. He makes my world brighter," said Steve.

Tony nodded as there was a knock at the door. He went to answer it while thinking about what Steve had said. "Hello," Tony called out.

The man on the other side chuckled. "Hey, let me in, man," he stated.

Tony opened the door and let Sam in. He smiled at the younger man. "It is good to see you, Sam," said Tony as he was pulled into a hug. 

"It is good to see you as well. Your best friend told me to tell you that he will be here in a day or two. He wanted to look into a few things," Sam stated. 

Smiling at Sam, Tony said, "That sounds like my best friend. He is always looking out for me. How are you, Sam, and how are things in DC?"

Smiling back at Tony, Sam stated, "Things are good. I am glad for the break, though. It has been a long, tough week. Everything would have been easy if Steve was there."

The three of them let out a laugh. Sam, Tony, and Steve all knew that was not true. Steve would have made things harder without even trying too. The three of them walked back inside. "Well, at least things were good," said Tony.

Sam looked over at the couch. "Who is that for?" he asked.

He had a feeling that he knew the answer, but Sam was curious. "It is for me," Tony stated, not wanting to get into it.

With the nod, Sam said, "It is cool. We do not have to talk about it."

Tony looked at him before speaking. "You deal with vets, not married couples, or divorced couples who need your help."

"You are right, Tony, but if I can do anything for you, then let me know. I am here for you," said Sam. 

With an even bigger smile on his face, Tony replied, "Thanks, Sam. It seems like everyone is here for me."

Sam gave the nod. "Why would we not be, Tony? If you can be an ass sometimes and a jerk, you are still a good person. So please do not beat yourself up. This mess is all on Pepper from what I can see," Sam stated.

All Tony could do was a nod as he went to lay down. Sam and Steve left him to get some rest. "How bad is it?" asked Sam as they walked up the stairs.

"Pretty bad," was all that Steve said.

He did not want to say much more since it was not his place to do so. Sam nodded. "That is fine that you will not say more. Is Jamie asleep?" Sam asked him.

Steve gave the nod. "He is. Bucky put him down for the night," replied Steve as Sam looked disappointed. 

"Guess, I will have to see him in the morning," Sam stated as he walked with Steve to his room.

Steve smiled at him. "You will, but it is going to be ok, Sam. Jamie will be thrilled to see you," Steve told him.

It was not a lie, but it was not the full truth either. Jamie had a love-hate relationship with Sam. It came, and it went. Depending on the day and how Jamie felt. "Well, even if he is not thrilled to see me, then I will be thrilled to see him," said Sam. He grinned at Steve. "Have a good sleep."

"You too, Sam," said Steve. 

Walking into his and Buck's room, Steve noticed Bucky was lying on the bedspread out. The covers were down at the end, and Bucky only had on a tee-shirt with boxers. "Hey, Steve," said Bucky.

Steve smiled as he walked over to Bucky and get into the bed. "Hey, back at you," replied Steve. 

As he went to lay down, Bucky pulled him close. "I love you," he replied.

"I love you too," Steve said with a smile on his face.

Bucky kissed Steve before bending over to kiss his stomach. "I love you as well, little one. I can not wait to meet you," Bucky told their child.

Steve chucked at that then turned around to look at Bucky. "You are wonderful, you know that?" asked Steve.

All Bucky could do was give the nod. He did not think that he was terrific. As far as he knew, he was far from being incredible. Steve just put Bucky on a petal stool. "I am not wonderful, but ok," said Bucky.

Steve gave him a look. "I disagree, Bucky. You take good care of Jamie and me when I need it," replied Steve. "Also, you make sure that everyone has what they need. Sometimes forgetting to look after yourself."

Now that was the truth. Bucky did forget to take himself all the time. He smiled at Steve. "Ok, maybe you are right, but I do not think you are," Bucky told him. He gave him another smile. "Now we should get some sleep. You need it, and I am sure the baby would love it if you went to sleep."

He nodded as he turned back around. Bucky wrapped his arms around Steve with an even bigger grin on his face. 'Night, Buck," said Steve.

"Goodnight, Steve," replied Bucky.

They laid curled into each other and fell asleep. It was easy to do when Steve and Bucky knew Jamie was sound asleep. Otherwise, it made it hard for them to sleep. "Hey, Nat," said Clint looking over to her.

She looked up from the bed that she was sitting on and over to Clint. Nat smiled at him. "Yes, Clint?" she asked him. 

Smiling back at her, Clint spoke, "Would you like to talk to the kids?"

With a nod, Nat got up and walked over to his bed. "You know I would," said Nat smiling at him.

Nat loved Clint's kids a lot. They meant the world to her since she could not have kids of her own. So, Clint pulled out his Starkpad and pulled up the video chat. "Hello," said a female voice.

"Hey, baby," Clint said to Laura. 

She smiled at him. "Hi, Nat. It is nice to see you both. What do you want, Clint?" asked Laura.

He smiled back at her. "Well, Nat wanted to see the kids if they are not in bed," said Clint. 

Laura stood up. "They should not be. Nate has not been put down to be yet, and the other two are somewhere around here," Laura spoke as she walked around the house to find them.

Copper beamed up at his mom as she came into the room. "Hey, mom," Copper said.

She smiled at him. "There is someone that wants to talk to you," said Laura with a smile on her face.

Turning the camera around, Copper and Lila got a big smile on their face. "Aunt Nat," they said at the same time. 

Nat gave them the biggest smile. "Hey, back at you two. It is nice to get to see you," she replied as Nate came walking into the room.

She smiled at him, as well. "Hi, Aunt Nat," he told her. 

He sank to the floor to be next to his siblings and started to build. "I wanted to see you three before I went to bed," Nat said.

Laura nodded at that. "I understand. Clint, are you going to come home, or will we be coming out there?" Laura asked him.

The man shrugged his shoulders. "I am not sure, Laura. Tony needs us right now, but I will video call whenever I can. Plus, I will see what is going on. Because I would love to come home for Christmas, but I am not sure if I will be able to," Clint told her. 

Laura nodded at that. She knew how important it was for the team to be together during the holidays. They were trying to get back into a grove of things. "You can let me know what you are doing when you know what you are doing. Nat, you are more than welcome to come as well," she said.

A moment later, the video call ended. "It was nice to see your family, but I am going to bed now," said Nat as Clint pulled her close. 

She gave him a look. "What Clint?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "Why don't you sleep in my bed tonight?" He asked her. 

Natasha stood up, then walked over to her bed. "I do not think it's a good idea, Clint. You are married," she said.

Clint looked at her. "Natasha, nothing is going to happen, and you both know we won't get much sleep otherwise," said Clint. 

While she knew that was true, Natasha was not going to sleep in his bed. "Sorry, Clint, but I rather get no sleep then to stir up trouble," Nat replied. 

Clint gave the nod. "I am sorry, Nat. It will not happen again," Clint stated.

It was truth in Clint's eyes, but he knew that he did love Nat in some way or another. She was a wonderful person to be around. "Ok," was all she said as she got into bed. 

Nat pulled the covers up then started to drift off to sleep. About halfway through the night, she could not sleep, so she went over to Clint's bed. "Hey, Clint, can you move over?" she asked him.

She had to shake him awake. Clint sat up, looking at her. "What is going on, Nat?" He asked her. 

Nat smiled at him. "I could not sleep. I know what I said earlier, but if it is alright, I would like to lay with you," she said.

All Clint could do was a nod. He did not want her to now because of what she said earlier, but if she could not sleep, then what did it hurt. "Ok, but just for tonight. Otherwise, it could get tricky," said Clint. 

Nat gave the nod as she laid down in the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep. Clint laid down as well. He needed sleep too. They fell asleep, but it did not take long for them to wake back up. "Clint, are you asleep?" asked Nat sitting up.

He sat up as well. Smiling at Nat, Clint said, "I am now."

Nat smiled at him, which Clint returned. "It is hard for me to fall asleep and stay asleep," Nat told him.

Clint wondered what it was that was keeping her awake. "Nat, do you want to talk about anything?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "I rather not talk about it," replied Nat with a smile on her face. 

He gave her a look as she pulled her top off. It was cold out, but Nat felt hot right now. "What are you doing?" asked Clint. 

Smiling at him, Nat said, "I thought we could have sex or at least fool around. I need some right now, Clint, you are the only person here I could see myself having sex with. "

Clint shook his head. She was making this hard on him. Because Clint knew she had a point there. Nat did not sleep with anyone. "Nat, you know that I am married, and I would never cheat on Laura no matter what," Clint replied.

"I know, but it would be a one-time thing, and I promise not to have sex with you again," Nat said.

A moment later, she found Clint taking his clothes off. What could it hurt to have sex with his best friend? If she needed him, then he was going to be there for her. "If it only happens this once, then I guess it could not hurt," he said, which was the farther thing from the truth. 

She smiled a big smile then leaned into him. They started to kiss passionately. Then Nat moved down his body to suck on his dick. "Thank you, Clint," said Natasha letting up.

Clint smiled at her as he moved his dick around to find her whole. After it was found, they had sex with her on top. Natasha was the type of girl that wanted to be in control. "You are welcome," was the reply she got.

After about thirty minutes, they stopped. "That was very good," Nat said.

All Clint could do was a nod. He was numb in shock about what he had done. Laura would be angry when she found out. "It was," Clint quietly said even if he was not sure what he felt at the moment. 

Quietly and quickly, they fell back to sleep. Soon morning was upon them, and Steve walked into their room. "Hey, Clint and Nat, it is time to get up," Steve said.

He looked over to the bed. Clint did not stir did Nat, so Steve walked over there. Sitting down on the bed, Steve took a closer look. Both of them were tangled up in each other. He started to shake Clint awake, who woke up. "Hey, Steve," said Clint as he shook Nat awake after untangling himself from her.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Clint and Nat," Steve said, giving them both a disappointed look. 

Clint did not smile at Steve as Nat woke up. He could see that Steve was still in his sleepwear and looked tired. Once Natasha sat up. She took a good look at Steve before turning to look at Clint. "What happened?" she asked him. 

While Clint knew what happened, he was not going to say it in front of Steve. He did not want the man to be mad at him. So he replied, "I do not know, Nat."

He hoped that she caught on to that. Putting his hands on his hips, Steve looked from Clint to Nat. "Well, from the looks of it, you two had sex," Steve said. 

The two of them shared a look. It shocked Clint and Nat that Steve caught onto it that quick. While they knew he had sex, they were not sure that he knew what after sex looked like. "There is no way that we could have slept together, Steve," Clint started.

Steve was not born yesterday and knew what after sex looked like even if they did not think that he did. "Then do you care to explain how you two were tangled together?" asked Steve. 

He was not judging them, but Steve was curious as to why they were tangled together. "Nat was tired last night and could not sleep, so she came over and laid in the bed with me," Clint told Steve.

Shaking his head, Steve looked down to the floor where a pile of clothes was. "Then what is this?" asked Steve, pointing to the pile of clothes on the floor. As an afterthought, Steve added, "You know I was not born yesterday. It is ok if you do not want to tell me."

He still was not judging them, but everything pointed to them having sex last night. Nat quickly looked down at the pile of clothes. She then looked back up to Steve. "I swear nothing happened last night," said Nat hoping that he would buy that. 

She could not get a read on how Steve felt, but Nat felt terrible knowing that she and Clint did have sex. She knew that she could have wrecked things between Clint and Laura. "Yea, Steve," said Clint. "We did nothing wrong. We must have gotten hot and taken our clothes off."

Shaking his head, Steve said, "I am not angry, nor am I going to yell at you. What you two do with your life is up to you. Remember this though, whatever you two do, does not just hurt you but the people around you. Now if you will excuse me, I need to check on my son."

He had added that last bit in to remind Clint of his kids, hoping that Clint would think about them and tell Laura about what had happened. "Sorry, Steve," Clint said.

Steve smiled at them as he left the room. "It is not me that you have to be sorry too. You have not hurt me, Clint," Steve said.

Those words did hurt Clint deeply. Steve was right. He was not the one Clint had to be sorry too. The man had screwed up big time. "I am still sorry, Steve," Clint called out to the man who did not hear a word he said. 

Nat looked over to Clint. They were surprised that there was no telling off from Steve. He just said to them that whatever they did could hurt others besides themselves. "What was that about?" Nat asked as she got up. 

Looking down at herself, Nat could see that she was naked. "I do not know Nat. I was expecting Steve to tell us off," Clint stated. He shrugged his shoulders. "It can not happen again, Nat. Laura is going to be so hurt when I tell her."

Clint looked over to Nat. He noticed that she was getting dressed. "I understand, Clint," Nat said as she pulled her shirt over her head. 

She got up and off the bed. "I am sorry about last night. I will be there when you tell Laura if you want," Nat said as she walked over to the door. 

Clint got up as well. Quickly putting his clothes on, Clint walked over to the door. "Thanks, Nat. I am not sure how I am going to tell her," said Clint. 

"Hey, we are going to get through this," Nat told him as she hugged him. 

Clint returned the hug. "I know Nat, but I feel bad about what happened last night. Cheating on Laura is not something that I do," Clint stated as he walked from the room. 

She gave him a small, sad smile. "I know, Clint, but people cheat all the time," Nat said. 

"Still does not make it right," replied Clint. 

Clint walked quickly down the stairs so that no one saw him coming out of the room with Nat. While everyone knew they shared a room, he did not want them to think that they were sleeping together. That was a one-time thing that was not going to happen again. "Hey, Clint, what's the hurry?" asked Sam looking at him. 

In his hurry to get downstairs, Clint had not seen Sam and ran into him. "Sorry, Sam, when did you get here?" asked Clint.

Sam smiled at him as they went down the stairs. He was glad to see Clint and could not wait until he got to spend some time with him. "Last night, after dinner. So how are you and it is fine," said Sam with a smile on his face.

"I am good," Clint replied as they went to sit at the kitchen table. 

Clint was not going to spill the beans to Sam about what happened last night. As they sat down at the kitchen table, they could see Tony at the stove cooking. Both men let out a laugh at the apron that Tony was wearing, but Morgan glared at them. "Daddy looks, wonderful in it," Morgan told them.

Sam and Clint let out a chuckle. "He sure does," said Sam taking out his camera. "Say cheese, Tony."

Right at that moment, Tony turned around, and Sam snapped a picture. Tony glared at him as Morgan spoke up. "Uncle Sam, can you send me a picture of it?" 

Sam gave the nod to Morgan as Sam spoke. "I sure can, Morgan. It will be a few days but do not worry. I will get you one."

She smiled at that as she looked over to her daddy. Morgan had a big grin on her face as Pepper came down the stairs. She ran over to her mommy. "Mommy, Uncle Sam is going to get me a picture of daddy in his apron," Morgan excitedly said.

Pepper looked at her. "Morgan, I am not in the mood this morning," said Pepper. 

The little girl looked sad. She wondered why her mommy was not in the mood. "Morgan, why don't you come over here," Sam said.

Morgan gave the nod as she ran over to Sam. He showed her how to take pictures with his camera. Once Morgan was engaged with that, Pepper looked at Tony. "I'll eat when I get to the new house," Pepper told him.

He gave her a look. As far as Tony knew, Pepper had not gotten a new house. So, it was news to him for sure. "Pepper, do you think you should wait to move out until the baby is born?" Tony asked, putting some food on the plates.

Pepper shook her head. "It will only make things worse, Tony. I should leave now," she told him. 

All Tony could do was a nod. He turned back around to flip the pancake that he was fixing. Pepper picked up her bag. "Well, call and let me know when you get there," Tony said, holding back the tears.

"I will," was all Pepper said as she walked over to the door and out it.

Sam let out a sigh. "Hey, Morgan, since breakfast is not made, what do you say we go take pictures of Bucky and Steve?" asked Sam.

Morgan smiled at that. She did not feel like staying down there right now. Her mommy just left and had not even said goodbye to her. "Ok," replied Morgan in a not cheerful voice. 

She went upstairs with Sam as Nat walked over to Tony. The woman stood by him but did not get to close to him. "Are you ok, Tony?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "I am not ok, Nat," said Tony.

"I figured as much. I told Morgan that we could get Ice Cream today so that I may do that with her. You can get rest this way and do not protest it. Tony, you need this break," she said, giving him a look. 

Tony nodded at that. He did not feel like speaking right now, and Nat was right. "If it is alright, maybe I can go with," Clint said to Nat.

She gave him a look. What was Clint playing at? Did he want to give away what might have happened last night? "I do not know, Clint. I thought that it could be a girls' day out," replied Nat. 

Clint nodded at that. "Lila loves those, so I understand, Nat. Tony, if you want, we could talk," Clint told him.

All Tony could do was shrug his shoulders. "I do not want to talk right now," he stated. 

Tony finished up the pancakes then ran upstairs. He curled into bed and stayed there. The man was not going to come down for a while. Sam crept with Morgan into Steve and Bucky's room. "Hey," Sam said quietly.

He looked on the floor and saw clothes on it. The room looked a bit of a mess from the clothes. "Grandpas," Morgan said.

A moment later, Sam heard a groan from Steve. "Your dick feels so good, Buck," said Steve.

Sam turned and led Morgan from the room. "We will come back," Sam stated. 

"What's a dick?" asked Morgan looking at Sam.

He frowned. The man didn't want to have this talk with her, but he had to say something. "It's something that men or boys have. You do not have one," Sam told her. 

They went back downstairs as Steve looked up. "Was Morgan and Sam just in our room?" He asked, pulling his head out of under the covers. 

Bucky nodded as he came out as well. "I think so, or at least I heard them," replied Bucky.

"Well, I guess we are going to get a talking to," said Steve.

Bucky shook his head. "I was not the one to say dick, Steve. You were. Sam will talk to you," Bucky said as he got up and out of bed.

Steve smiled at him. "Put some clothes on Bucky," Steve said as he got up. 

The man groaned as he picked up his clothes and went into the bathroom as he shook his butt at Steve. Steve sighed as he got dressed. He had just heard Jamie. "Mommy is coming," Steve called out. 

He quickly got dressed and walked into Jamie's room. "Pepper left," Tony stated. 

Tony was at the crib looking down at Jamie. They were playing a game of peek a boo. "I am sorry to hear that, Tony. I can see that you are having fun," Steve said.

He gave the nod. "I am. I was in my room, and I heard him as you did. So, I decided to come to check on him," replied Tony. 

Steve smiled at him. "That's fine. I bet he is hungry or needs a diaper change," Steve stated.

Up close, Tony could tell that Steve looked tired and worn out. "Did you just have sex, Steve?" Tony asked him.

Steve laughed. "Well, maybe I did, and maybe your daughter heard something come out of my mouth," Steve replied, looking at Tony. 

He turned to look at Steve as he picked Jamie up. "What?" Tony yelled. 

Steve gave him a look. "I said your dick feels so good, Buck," Steve said.

Tony shook his head. "You are going to be talking to my daughter about why she does not repeat that word. I do not need her teacher calling me and asking me why my daughter said dick," said Tony as he walked Jamie over to the changing table.

Once Steve was over there, Tony stepped back to let Steve change Jamie. There was no way that Tony was getting peed on. "I will," replied Steve smiling at Tony. 

Tony, on the other hand, was not smiling. "Well, Steve, this was nice, but I want to go rest some more. It was nice talking to you. I best go rest now. Natasha and Clint took Morgan out for the day," stated Tony.

Giving him nod, Steve put a clean diaper on Jamie. "Please, get a good rest in, Tony," Steve said. "If you need us, Buck and I are here for you."

Tony nodded as he left the room. He walked back to his room, where he crawled into bed. However, he got up, because Tony couldn't sleep in their bed. Leaving the room, Tony walked to a secret part of the house. He pushed a button before going in. "I am glad this is here," he said to himself.

Entering the secret room, Tony began to smash things all around. Broken glass could be seen all over the floor. At this moment, Tony did not care what he broke or if he got hurt. "How could you do this, Pepper?" asked Tony aloud.

While that was going on and Clint was getting Morgan ready, Nat placed a phone call. She knew this person could help Tony out a lot. After a few rings, the man picked up. "Hello, Nat," Bruce said into the phone. 

She smiled a small smile. "Hi Bruce, sorry to bother you, but I think Tony needs his other best friend right now," she said.

Bruce placed the phone to his other ear before speaking again. "What is going on, Nat?" Bruce asked her. 

Now he was worried about Tony. "Well, I can not really tell you, but it's not good right now," said Nat.

All Bruce could do was a nod. "Fine, I guess I can call him. I should be back in New York soon," Bruce told her. "Also, what about Rhodes? Should he be there by now."

"I do not know, Bruce. Sam is here, but Rhodes is not," Nat replied.

Bruce smiled a bit. It was nice to talk to Nat even if it was about Tony. "Ok, thanks Nat," Bruce stated. 

Taking a hammer, Tony started to smash up the table that was in the room. He kept at it before his phone rang. Tony picked up his phone and answered it. "Hello," Tony said.

The man on the other line was not smiling now. He could hear the hurt in Tony's voice. "Hey, Tony. I was calling to see how you were doing," Bruce told him.

"What did Nat tell you?" asked Tony in an angry voice. 

Bruce let out a sigh. "Tony, she did not tell me anything. All she said was that you could use a friend right now," Bruce said, which was the truth. 

It was Tony's turn to sigh. "Sorry, Bruce. I did not mean to snap at you. Pepper left today," started Tony.

Bruce cut him off. "She left you? Tony, do you need me to come home?" Bruce asked him.

Tony waved his hand. "Yea, we are divorced, and she decided to up and move out. We were going to wait to tell Morgan after the holidays, but I felt Morgan needed to know sooner. So I told Morgan some of the truth, and Pepper left. Steve and Bucky felt it was best that I not lie to Morgan. If you want to come back home, you may, but I know how much your work there means to you," Tony said after a high wind of talking. 

"That is a lot to take in, Tony. I am surprised you are handling it so well. I will be on the first flight that I can," Bruce stated. He smiled at himself. "You need me, Tony. I can always come back here."

On the other end, Tony smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Bruce. I could use you right now. I will see you when you get here," Tony said as he hung up.

It felt good to talk to Bruce and get that out. A weight had been lifted off his chest for sure. He was glad that he could speak to someone who would listen without butting in to say a word. "You do not know how much you mean to me, Bruce," said Tony as an afterthought. 

Bruce was not smiling as he left the little hut that he was in. He walked down the dirt path to the main house. The family that he was caring for was outside. Knocking on the door, a man answered. "Hello, Bruce," he said with a smile on his face.

He did not smile back at the man. "Hello, Mister. I come to tell you that I must go back to New York. I can leave medicine with you for your family. I am sorry, but I am needed there," Bruce told him.

The man nodded at that. "I understand, Sir. It has been wonderful to have you here with us, and I thank you for what you have done for my family. Without you here, who knows what would have happened to them," said the man. 

He leaned in to give Bruce a hug who only protested a little at the touch. "I was only doing my job, sir," Bruce stated.

Bowing to the man, Bruce left him after giving him the medicine. Bruce then went back to his hut to pack his bags. The next step was to call Nat, but when he went to call her, it went to voice mail. "Hey, Nat, I was calling to say that I am coming back to New York. Tony knows. So, I guess I will see you when I get there," Bruce said into the phone.

Hanging up, Bruce went to pack his bags and head back to New York. Natasha smiled as they made it to the ice cream place. She looked over at Morgan. "You may get anything you like," she told the girl as they walked up to the counter.

Morgan smiled at her. She was thrilled to be getting whatever she wanted. "Thanks, Aunt Nat," said Morgan smiling at her.

She smiled back at her. "You are welcome," she replied as they took a few minutes to look over the menus.

Clint already knew what he wanted to eat. "You have a cute family," the woman said to them.

The two adults shared a look. "We are not a family. I am happily married, and she is a good friend. This little girl here is our friend's daughter. We are just taking her out for ice cream," Clint corrected the woman.

"Oh, I am sorry," was her reply.

Clint nodded as he looked to Morgan. "Do you know what you want?" asked Clint.

Morgan gave the nod. "I will have a chocolate ice cream cone," Morgan told the woman who smiled at her.

With a smile, Nat said, "I will have the same."

Clint gave them both a dirty look. "Unlike them, I will have the Rocky Road ice cream, but make it the biggest one you have," said Clint. 

All Nat could do was snort. She let out a laugh as Clint paid for their ice cream. They then went to sit over by the tree. "So, what is going on between you two?" asked Morgan looking at them. 

She felt like something was up, and they were not telling anyone about it. "Nothing Morgan. We are just good friends," Nat replied as their ice cream came over to them. 

They ate it in silence before getting up to throw their trash away. "If you are good friends, then why do you share a room. I thought only married people shared a room," Morgan stated, looking at them. 

The two of them shared a look. Morgan was a smart girl like her father was. So, Clint bent down to her level. "Morgan, that is true, but sometimes even friends share a room when they sleepover at each other houses," Clint said.

She gave him a look. "So, Nat did not say anything about your dick feeling so good last night?" asked Morgan.

Nat and Clint gave each other a look. "Where did you hear that?" Nat asked, getting down to Morgan's level.

"It's what Grandpa Steve said about Grandpa's Bucky's dick," replied Morgan. "So did you say that as well about Clint's dick."

It was time to lie to the girl. "Morgan, Clint, and I are not sleeping together, and if we were, I would not say that. Also, you should not repeat that," Nat stated.

Here came the twenty questions it felt like. "Why should I not repeat it, and what does it mean?" asked Morgan.

Clint looked at Nat. "I think it is time to call in Steve," Clint stated.

She smiled at Clint, and she did agree with him. She pulled out her cell phone calling Steve. On the first ring, he picked up. "Hey, Steve," Nat said to him.

"Hi, Nat. What do you want? I thought you were out with Clint and Morgan getting ice cream," he said. 

Nat smiled into the phone. "I am, but Morgan said something, and I need you to explain what it means to her," Nat told him.

Bucky looked at Steve, seeing as he could hear every word. "What did Morgan say, and why does Steve need to explain it?" Bucky asked, which Nat heard. 

"Well, Bucky, Morgan was asking about Clint and I sharing a room. She thought we were having fun. I told her went we were not, but she said something about Steve saying you dick felt so good," Nat said.

Bucky looked at Steve before speaking again. "You do know our son is in the room right, Nat?"

She laughed. "I do not know that he and Bucky can not speak anyways. So you both are fine, and Steve, you need to start speaking again," Nat said.

"Fine, put Morgan on," Steve said. 

Tony did say that he needed to talk to her, and Steve guessed now was the time. "Hi, Grandpa Steve. What does your dick feel so good, mean?" she asked him.

Steve had to hold back a laugh because Morgan was Tony's daughter through and through. "A dick is something that guys have, and I just meant that it felt good as in it did not hurt. Bucky said that it hurt, so I had to make sure that it did not hurt," Steve said.

He hoped that would work for now. Morgan bought it even if it was not the complete truth. She was too young to know what it meant. "Ok, Grandpa. I love you," Morgan said.

"I love you too, Morgan, but please do not repeat it. It is not something everyone says all the time," replied Steve.

Morgan smiled at that. "Ok, I will not grandpa," Morgan said as she hung up the phone.

"She is Tony's kid. Who else would hang up on Steve," Clint said.

Nat nodded at that. "What do you say we go to the zoo, Morgan?" asked Nat.

Morgan smiled at Nat. "I would like that," she said, taking Nat's hand. 

Walking with Morgan back to the car, Nat looked over to Clint. "We need to talk about last night more. Plus, we need to figure out when we can call Laura to talk to her," Nat said.

Clint looked back at her as they got to the car. He went around to the driver's side and got in. Nat helped Morgan get in before getting in herself. "We do, but I think it would be best to tell her in person," said Clint.

All Nat could do was a nod. "You are right," she said.

While they drove to the Zoo, Tony went down to his lab. Little did he know that Peter was on his heels. "Hey, Tony," said Peter, which made Tony jumped.

His heart skipped several beats before he got control over it again. "Hi, Peter, could you not do that again," Tony told him. 

"Sorry, I forgot, Tony. It will not happen again," said Peter, with a smile on his face.

Tony nodded. "So, you gonna work in the lab with me?" asked Tony. 

Giving the nod, Peter said, "I would love too."

When they got to the lab, Tony put the code in, and the door opened up. Peter smiled as they walked in. Tony grinned. "I made you your station that you can work at, Peter," Tony said.

Peter looked at him. "Do you think I am ready for that?" he asked Tony.

Tony nodded. "I do, Peter. You have done great," said Tony.

All Peter could do was look at his station. It felt weird about having the training wheels come off. He noticed that there were a few new toys at his station. "Wow, this is nice," said Peter picking up something that looks like a web shooter. 

Tony smiled at him. "I am glad that you like it, Peter. It's a web shooter that can shoot webs pretty far and wide. You can take it and make it your own," stated Tony as he sat down at his lab. He gave Peter another smile before. "I am going to be working for a bit. If anyone needs me tell them I am busy."

Giving Tony the nod, Peter sat down to work on his web shooter. He could not wait to try it out on patrol. Of course, Peter was going to change it up to work best for him, but he was glad that Tony had made it for him. "Thanks, Tony, and I will," Peter replied.

While they were working down in the lab, Bucky looked over to Steve. "Can not believe Morgan heard you say that," he said.

Steve gave him a look as he bounced Jamie on his lap. "I know," Steve replied. He smiled at Jamie, who giggled. "Tony gave me this talking too, and now I can tell him I talked with his daughter. After Clint and Natasha found out."

Bucky let out a laugh as he came back over to the bed and sat down on it. "I am sure he will get a laugh out of that. "Hey F.R.I.D.A.Y, what is Tony up too?" asked Bucky in a curious voice.

He wanted to check on Tony to make sure that he was alright. "Boss is down in his lab with Peter. They are busy working on a project. Also, the boss would like to be left alone at this moment," she replied.

Bucky gave the nod even if F.R.I.D.A.Y. could not see it. "Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y," said Bucky as he leaned over to tickle Jamie. 

"You are welcome," stated F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Steve smiled at Buck, then Jamie. He always wanted a family but wasn't sure he would have one. Since he was a little boy, Steve had always been sick and deathly ill. So, once he got the serum and after finding out that he could have kids, Steve wanted to have them. He indeed found out he was expecting at the same time as finding out about having female body parts. "Bucky, are you happy?" asked Steve looking over to him.

The man gave the nod. "I am Steve. Why are you asking that?" Bucky asked him. 

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I just wanted to know," replied Steve. 

Giving him a look, Bucky took Jamie from Steve to hold him. "Steve, you do not have to worry at all. I am happy. If I were not happy, then I would tell you," Bucky told Steve. 

Putting his hands in his head, Steve replied, "I know I do not have to worry, but I always worry. It is something that I do, Buck. I can not help it."

Bucky laid Jamie on the bed, who stayed close to Bucky. He pulled Steve closer to him without hurting Jamie. The little boy looked up at them. "Steve, everything is going to be ok. I know I have my dark days as do you, but you should not worry right now. You need to focus on our kid right now and Jamie. I can take care of myself," Bucky said.

They hugged each other. "You are right, Bucky, but it is hard. It is something that I will have to work on," replied Steve smiling at him as they leaned into the kiss. 

"Well, please try for me," Bucky stated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a character death in here. Also, there is more angst in here as well as mentions of a car crash. Plus, a child or two dies.

Having got done with his web-shooters, Peter pulled out his phone. He quickly logged onto twitter and started to tweet.

Spider-Man @Spider-Man  
What is happening, my peeps.

Spidey's number one fan @NedLeeds  
Replying to @Spider-Man  
Turn on the news Spider-Man

Spider-Man @Spider-Man  
Replying to @NedLeeds  
What is going on?

HPFan @LindaSmith  
Replying to @NedLeeds and @Spider-Man  
There has been a car crash in New York City.

Peter quickly turned on the news as Tony looked up and over to Peter. "Hey, kid, what is going on?" asked Tony.

The kid was now sitting up in his seat, staring at the t.v. Tony looked up to the t.v. He saw a guy talking on it. "We do not know how bad it is, but C.E.O. of S.I. was in a wreck. There is no word yet on how she is doing, nor do we know if Stark knows yet," said the man.

They went back to the newsroom where a female anchor spoke next. "Do they know what caused the crash?"

The man outside was not smiling. "They did not know what caused the crash, but it appears as if Mrs. Stark went into labor which could have caused the accident. We will keep you updated as we get more news. You can also follow us on Twitter at @12News. Back to you, Sarah. 

Tony sat there, numb as the woman named Sarah spoke again. "For those just turning in, there was a crash on fifth Avenue. Mrs. Stark was involved in the crash. No word on what caused the crash besides the fact that Mrs. Stark could have been labor. We will keep you up to date on what is going on. Signing out now, I am Sarah Rogue."

Looking over to Tony, Peter started to speak. "Are you ok?" asked Peter.

The man did not say a word which scared Peter a lot. Tony was sitting there, staring off into space. "Is Sam around, F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"

"He is. Would you like me to get him?" she asked. 

Peter nodded. "I would, F.R.I.D.AY," replied Peter.

A moment later, found Sam down the stairs and in the lab. He walked quickly over to them. "What is going on, Peter?" asked Sam, looking over to Tony. 

"There was a crash, and Pepper was taken to the hospital," Peter told Sam as Steve slowly made his way into the room. 

Steve looked at them. "I heard F.R.I.D.A.Y. call for Sam. So I would come to see what I could do to help," Steve said.

Peter nodded at him. "Sam, do you think you could make a few phone calls to see where Pepper is at? Steve, can you stay with Tony? I need to call Aunt May to let her know that I won't be coming up to see her as I thought," said Peter taking charge since Tony was still numb.

"I need a drink," Tony said as he stood up. 

While Sam went to make some calls, as did Peter, Steve looked over to Tony. "Please do not drink, Tony? You have done so well without drinking. Please do not start now," Steve said.

Tony gave him a dirty look. "I know you are asking politely Cap, but I do not care right now. My ex-wife is in the hospital and could be dead for all I know. Also, who knows if my kid survived the crash and you have the audacity to tell me not to drink. It is a perfect reason to drink," Tony yelled.

Steve sank into a chair. He looked at Tony. "Ok fine, if you want to drink, go ahead, but know this, you need to be sober for Morgan. Plus, we need to find out first before we go thinking the worse has happened," Steve said, turning on the t.v. That was in the lab. 

All Tony could do was sit down. He was still angry and was not sure what to do at this moment. "Thanks, Steve, I am sorry for how I just acted," replied Tony.

Steve walked over and hugged him after getting up. "It is ok, Tony. You are very worried about your child and ex-wife. If I were in your shoes, I would be the same way minus the getting drunk part," Steve told Tony, who nodded.

A moment later, Steve went to sit back down as the woman on the t.v. began to talk. "We have more information on the crash that happened a few moments ago. The woman Mrs. Stark was in labor, which is what caused the crash. She hit another from in front of her. It seems that she was driving way to fast."

The man beside her started to speak. "Do we know if anyone else was hurt?"

She gave the nod. "Several people were hurt in the crash, but we do not know how bad it is. Also, at this time, we do not have a word if Mrs. Stark was hurt or not. She is at the hospital, and we are waiting on word on how she is." Touching a finger to her ear, the lady started to speak again. "Just in, at least several people are dead from the crash, and we are not sure how many more might be dead." 

Tony looked at Steve. "Why was she driving if she was in labor? You would think that she would call someone to help her. Why would she risk her life and the baby's to get to the hospital by herself," Tony stated?

Little did they know that was in the car with her. The media chose to keep that quiet for now because of the police. Steve gave the nod before frowning. "I am not sure, Tony. Maybe she thought she would be ok to drive," replied Steve. 

He stood up. Tony stood up as well, following Steve from the room. They took the stairs to get upstairs. "So, where are we going?" asked Tony.

Steve turned to look at Tony. "I am going to let Bucky know that he has Jamie, then we are going to find Sam and head to the hospital," Steve stated.

It was plain to see that Tony was not going to be able to do much right now. "Sounds like a plan," he said as they stopped on Steve's floor.

Once inside the living room, Tony could see Bucky on the floor with some big blocks that he was helping Jamie with. The boy would knock down whatever James built then laugh, which in turn would cause Bucky to laugh. "Hi, Sam, filled me in on what is going on. He said you guys would be heading to the hospital once he found out which one it was. Are you doing ok, Tony?" asked James.

Tony shook his head. "Right now, I am not doing ok, but I will be once I know what is going on," Tony stated. 

Walking over to Bucky, Steve gave him a kiss, which he returned. "Stay safe and be careful," Bucky said.

Steve smiled at him. "I will. Sam will most likely drive and not Tony or me," replied Steve as he walked back over to Tony.

Jamie waved to his father before he watched them walk back out the door. "Thanks for coming with me, Steve," said Tony as they made their way to Sam.

He was standing in the kitchen, talking on the phone. "Yes, this is Sam Wilson, as in Captain America. I am calling to check on Pepper Stark. I was wondering how she was doing and which hospital to go to," Sam said.

The lady, on the other end, spoke. "Can her husband talk?" 

Sam shook his head. "Not at this moment. He is too worried about her and his child to be able to speak," Sam told her.

She smiled on the other end of the phone. "She is at Mercy Hospital, room 405. The only person allowed back there is her ex-husband," said the woman.

Sam nodded at that. "I understand," Sam said as he got off the phone and hung up. 

He looked over to Tony. Tony looked back at him. "Did you get the information?" Tony asked him.

Sam nodded. "I did, Tony, but you should know that they said, ex-husband. So at least she could talk at the scene," said Sam.

All Tony could do was a nod as they walked outside and to Sam's car. They all got in with Tony in the back. He shut his eyes to get a little rest before they got there. It did not take long for them to get there, and Tony was glad about that. "Thanks for getting us here real quick without getting us killed," said Tony as they walked into the hospital after parking. 

Sam smiled at him. "It is no problem, Tony. Driving in New York is different than driving in D.C., but I know how to do it," Sam said as they went up to the service desk. 

"I am here for Pepper Potts," Tony said, knowing that she would have used her maiden name instead of his last name. 

Everything had been changed over already. The lady frowned as she checked the computer. "She is in room 405, and you may go back, Mr. Stark. It is on the fourth floor. They will have to wait in the waiting room up there," she told him.

Tony nodded as he walked quickly over to the stairs. They walked up for flights before they made it to the floor. Opening the door, Tony walked over to the desk. He smiled at the lady. "May I go see Miss Potts?" he asked her.

The woman shook her head. "I am sorry, but right now, no one is allowed back. You can have a seat over there. A doctor will be with you shortly," she told him.

So, the three of them walked over and took a seat. Sam looked over to Steve and Tony. "Since it is going to be a while, how about I go get some coffee for us or tea in Steve's case," Sam said, standing up. 

All Tony could do was a nod at Sam. That was not a bad idea. At least Tony would have something to do with his hands. "Thanks, Sam," replied Tony as the man walked over to the coffee machine.

Sam put some money into the machine and got out a coffee. He then put some more money in it and watches another coffee be made. Sam then walked back over, handing Tony the coffee. He did not see a thing for tea at all. So, for now, Steve would have to do without. "Sorry, they do not have tea," Sam stated.

Steve gave him a small smile. "It is alright. I am not thirsty anyways," Steve replied. 

Sitting back down, Sam started to drink his coffee as did Tony. Right at this moment, Tony did not care if it was too black or not. He just needed something to do with his hands. Putting the coffee cup to his mouth, Tony started to speak. "When do you think that we will hear something?" 

Sam shook his head. "I am not sure, Tony. It could be several hours before we hear anything," Sam stated.

It took a lot for Tony to sit there and not get up to go bug the nurses as he wanted too. Tony to his credit stayed awake for a long time, while Steve curled up into a chair and fell asleep. Tony smiled at Sam. "Man, he sure can sleep anywhere," Tony stated.

Sam gave the nod as he looked over to Steve, who was peacefully sleeping, or it seemed that way. "It must have something to do with the era he was born in," was Sam's reply. 

The vet was tired and worn out. He did not know how long they were going to be here. Sam wished that he would have brought something to do. "I bet you right," Tony stated. 

The man stared down at his hands. Tony was not sure what to do right now or what to tell Morgan after he found out the news. So, for now, all he could do was wait. Leaning back in his chair, Tony sighed. Reaching over to pat Tony's hand, Sam said, "It may not seem like it is going to be alright, but all we can do is expect the worse and hope for the best," Sam told Tony.

Tony nodded as he started to drift off to sleep. Right at this moment, Tony did not care that the chairs were hard because he was tired. "Thanks, Sam," Tony mumbled. 

In a moment, Tony was out like a light. Sam was glad that Tony was going to get some sleep. While they slept, Sam stood up. He walked over to the window and looked out it. It felt weird being back here in a hospital. The last time Sam was here was when Steve had Jamie. "You are welcome," replied Sam to himself.

He kept looking, hoping, and praying that everything would turn out alright. As much as Tony hated Pepper right now, the man knew that he would not wish her dead. Tony would want her around for their daughter's sake. A few hours later and well into the night, a doctor came out. "Potts," called out a doctor. 

Sam stood up, who had finally sat down. "Yes," said Sam as he went to shake Tony awake.

Sitting up, Tony looked over to the doctor who wore a frown on his face. "I am sorry for your loss, Mr. Stark, but Pepper is dead. There was nothing that we could do to save her. She lost to much blood," he told Tony.

Tony started to shake, so Sam asked the next question. "What about their child?"

The doctor put a small smile on his face. "The boy is just fine. We had to take him by c-section, but the crash did not harm him," the doctor stated as Tony nodded. 

" What caused the crash?" Tony asked.

Coming closer to Tony and Sam as Steve woke up, the doctor stated, "In her hurry to get to the hospital because she was in labor, Miss Potts was driving too fast and hit another car. Which led the car to hit another car and the car behind her, hit her's as well. At least five people were killed, plus a five-year-old was killed. Several more came in with injuries," said the doctor. 

Sam nodded at that. Tony looked up to the doctor. "Did she call anyone for help before getting in the car?" Tony asked him.

Shaking his head, the doctor said, "No, but there was a man with her in the car. We are not sure how he is doing right now. He is not my patient." 

"If you need anything else, let me know. You may see your son as soon as you like. He is back behind those doors."

Tony nodded as the doctor walked away. He put his hands in his head. "I can not believe this. Pepper did not call me when she was in labor but had a man come with her. She then crashed the car afterward. Why did the man not drive?" asked Tony.

Sam nor Steve had any answers. Standing up, Steve walked over to Tony with a smile on his face. "It is sad about what happened, but at least one good thing came from this, Tony," Steve said.

"What is that, Steve? Pepper killed five people and a little kid," stated Tony looking at him.

Steve nodded at that. "True, but your son is alright," said Steve.

He was trying to stay on the positive side of things right now. Tony gave the nod. "You are right. Sam, could you let everyone know the news, while I see my son. Steve, could you come back with me?" Tony asked.

Both men gave the nod as Tony stood up. They would be there for Tony right now. Pulling out his cell phone, Sam went to make a call while Steve and Tony made their way back to see his son. They both put on badges as they went back. "Tony, everything is changing right now, but know this everyone is here for you. If you want, Morgan can spend time with Bucky and me. I know what it is like to lose a parent, and I could talk to her if you wanted," Steve said.

All Tony could do was a nod. "I would like that Steve. I want to be the one to tell her about Pepper, but I would not mind if you talked to her. She is going to need someone right now, and I need to take care of my son," said Tony. 

"That is fine," replied Steve.

Walking over to the nurses' station, Tony started to speak. "I am here to see my son. I do not know his name yet, but the last name should be Stark or Potts."

The nurse smiled at him. "If you give me a second, I can look it up," she said.

Moving her hand, the nurse made a few clicks on the computer. Tony waited a moment. "Sir, I am not finding anything under those names," she told him.  
Tony shook his head. "There was a Miss. Potts here," Tony told her.

The nurse smiled as she looked up, Miss. Potts. "I see," she said. A moment later, she found it. "Yes, she did give have a little boy, but he is under Ross."

Tony went numb with shock. He knew who Ross was and could not believe it. "Thanks, Amanda. Do you think we could go back to see the boy?" Steve asked her.

The nurse smiled. "I am sure you can, but do you know if Mr. Stark is the father of the child?" she asked.

Steve did not know now if he was or not. "I am not sure," he replied.

With another smile, the nurse said, "That is fine. You may go back now. We can always do a D.N.A. test."

All Tony did was a nod as he walked back with Steve to see the baby that might not be his now. "Steve, was she sleeping with Ross?" Tony asked.

Steve did not know how to answer that at the moment. So, he put his arm around Tony. "I have no idea, Tony, but we will find out," said Steve smiling at him. 

Walking up to what could be his son, Tony looked down at the little boy. He looked so cute. "He looks so cute," Tony said. 

"He does, Tony. We are here for you no matter what happens," replied Steve as he looked at the boy.

A nurse smiled at him. "Would you like to hold him?" asked a nurse.

Tony was not sure that he wanted to hold the little boy because he may not be his. "I think Tony is in shock right now," Steve told the nurse who gave the nod. 

"I understand, but it might do some good to hold the boy even if he is not yours, Tony. The boy needs people right now," she said, hoping he would pick up the boy.

She walked away after that. Steve looked at Tony. "If you want, you can sit in that chair, and I can bring him over to you," spoke Steve to Tony.

Tony nodded. "Yea, that is fine," said Tony on auto mode.

He did not trust himself to walk with the boy over to the chair. "Thanks, Steve," said Tony as he sat down.

Steve smiled at him. He picked the little boy up, smiling at him as he did so. "You are a pretty little boy," Steve told him as he walked with the boy over to Tony.

The boy looked up to Steve before turning to look at Tony, who has scratched his throat. "He is, Steve but what if he is not mine," Tony said.

He took the boy from Steve, who was smiling. "Tony, we will deal with it when the time comes," replied Steve. He gave Tony a look. "Right now, this boy needs someone, and you are all he has until we find out the truth."

Tony nodded at Steve. "You are right. Could you give us a few moments alone?" asked Tony.

With a nod, Steve walked from the room. "If you need anything, then yell," Steve said. 

"I will," Tony spoke as he looked down at the little boy. "I promise to be there for you, no matter what. Even if you are not my kid."

The boy smiled at him. A nurse walked in. "Hello," she said to Tony.

He looked up from the boy. "Hi," Tony said back.

She smiled at him before she spoke. "Does the boy have a name?" she asked him.

Tony shook his head. He was not sure if Pepper picked one out or not. "I do not know if he does. We had not talked about it. Pepper had ideas for names, but she never told me what they were," Tony stated.

The nurse gave the nod. "I understand. You must be in shock right now. I can come back later and get a name if you would like," she said.

Tony smiled at her. "That would be great," said Tony.

The nurse quickly left the room, and Tony laid the boy on his shoulder while rubbing his back. He could not believe that his son or the boy who may not be his son was here. It was a lot to take in. "If you want," said another nurse stepping in. "We could do a D.N.A. test now to find out. It will take about 2 to 3 weeks to be sent back, but at least you would know then."

There was a nod from Tony. "I would like that," said Tony. 

She took a swab of his mouth then took a swab of the boy's mouth. "Thank you," the nurse said.

Tony gave the nod to her. "Do you have any word on Ross? He was brought in here with my wife," said Tony.

The nurse smiled at him. "I do not, but I can find out if you like," she stated.

"Yes, I would like that," Tony said with a smile on his face.

Even if he hated the man's guts, he wanted to see how he was. "I will go find out right now," she said.

She quickly walked from the room. The nurse walked back to the station and looked at one of the other nurses. "Do you know what happened to Ross. He came in with Miss. Potts," she said.

The nurse smiled at her as she clicked on the computer. "He is being released as we speak. It seems like he was not hurt that bad," she told the other nurse who gave the nod. "Also, you should know that they questioned him."

They shared a look. "Why did they question him? Do they think he had something to do with the crash?" she asked.

"Yes, they do. He did not say much to them, but from what I could tell, and see, he showed no remorse for the crash that happened," she stated.

With a nod, she said, "Thanks. I will let Mr. Stark know."

She quickly walked back to the room, but she noticed that he was asleep. So, walking over to him, the nurse took the boy and put him back in the crib. She then covered up, Tony before walking from the room. Sam and Steve were there to greet her. "Hello," she said.

"Hi, I am Sam, and this is Steve. Is Tony asleep?" he asked her.

The nurse gave the nod. "He is, and the boy is asleep as well. There is not much you can do right now," she said. 

They gave her a nod. "Thanks, we will go wait downstairs then. If he wakes up, can you tell him that we are getting food?" Sam asked.

"I can," she said, walking away. 

Sam led Steve over to an elevator and pushed the button. Steve made a face at Sam. "Do we have to eat the food here. It is no good," Steve told him.

Giving Steve a look, Sam said, "Yes, we do, but you can go home if you want. I know you must be tired add in the fact that I bet you want to hug Jamie close right now."

Steve smiled at Sam as he hugged him. "It is alright. I can stay here for now. Tony needs us, and Jamie is fine. It is almost his bedtime. I can face time him if I need too," said Steve.

The elevator opened, but they did not get on as the t.v. Started to speak. "We have more word on what happened at the crash."

Sam, plus Steve, turned to look at the t.v as did a few others. "What is going on?" asked a man. 

With a shrug of his shoulders, Sam replied, "I have no idea. Maybe they will tell us."

The lady on the news channel was not smiling at all. "It appears to be worse as three more people died. One of the people was also expecting, but neither she nor her child survives it. We are waiting on word to see what will happen," she said. She looked over to Andy, who was on the scene. "Can you tell us more, Andy?"

He gave the nod. "As you can see behind me," he said, waving his hand. "Is the place where the wreck happened. It all started because a woman went into labor. She then would not let the man with her in the car drive her to the hospital."

They could see that the crew was still cleaning up the wreck. "So you are saying that woman is at fault?" she asked him, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"All I am saying is that it appears that way until we get more news," Andy stated. He looked at the screen so he could see her. "We have several deaths since the crash, including a woman, her unborn child, and a 5-year-old kid."

The woman gave the nod. "We will keep you up to date on this," said the woman.

Sam, not buying into any of this, turned on his phone. He pulled up Twitter, which made Steve smiled. There was a hashtag going around. It read: #Pottsakiller. 

He showed it to Steve, who said, "Click on it."

So, Sam pulled it up. He scanned it before showing it to Steve, who frowns. "Pepper is not a wonderful person, but I do not think that she is a killer."

#Pottsakiller

@RossaWalker  
The Hashtag #Pottsakiller is going around. It says that Potts has killed people all because she could not let someone else drive.

@RossaWalker  
We have word that Miss. Potts chose to drive herself to the hospital even when she had someone who could drive her there. 

@BrittneyCole  
It is stupid to drive yourself to the hospital when you are in labor.

@BrittneyCole  
She should have let the man drive. My husband drove every time.

Sam and Steve shook their heads as they read more of the tweets. "Look, Steve, maybe we should go get some food before someone sees us," Sam stated.

But, as soon as Sam said that, someone spoke up. "Hey, are you Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson?" asked the man. 

With a groan, Sam replied, "Yes, we are, but right now, we are busy."

"You do not look busy," said someone else.

A lady with a camera came over to them. "Hi, I am with channel five news, and I was wondering if you could give us an update?" she asked them.

"Hey, lady," Sam started but was cut off by Steve. "Miss, right at this moment, we only know what they told us and what the media has said. I am sure more will be said at a later date. Right now, Tony would like peace so that he can deal with telling his daughter that her mother will not be home."

The woman had tears in her eyes then. "You are right. Could you at least tell us if Tony is doing ok?" she asked. 

Sam looked over to Steve, who smiled back at him. "At this time, I am sure Tony is doing the best he can, but I highly doubt that he is ok," Steve said. 

"Is it true that they are divorced?" she asked, pressing her luck.

Smiling at her, Steve stated, "If you would, please stop with the question. I am hungry and tired right now. Also, I would like to get home to my kid."

Sam gave Steve a look as they took the stairs. They walked over to the food court. "You handled that well," Sam said.

Steve waved him off. "Well, I am used to it by now," replied Steve.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony finally tells Morgan the truth.

A few days later, Tony was at home getting drunk. He still had not told Morgan about her mother. The truth was he did not know how to tell her. Steve was sitting downstairs with him, as was Peter. They were trying to get Tony to stop drinking. "Mr. Stark, Morgan needs you, and this is not healthy," Peter said.

Tony shrugged his shoulders as he took another drink. "What do I care, Peter? My ex is dead, and the boy may not even be mine. She was cheating on me even when we were together," said Tony as he took another drink from the bottle. 

With a sigh, Steve spoke up, "Tony; we care about you a lot. Morgan loves you very much. She also wonders what is going on. It hurts her to see you like this."

Standing up, Tony walked over to the trash can and threw the bottle away. He grabbed out another one, then walked back over to his chair and sat down. "I know you guys care, but I just need time and space right now," Tony stated as he pulled up his phone. He started to read aloud from the article title: Captain America Has A Son?

Earlier this week, we learned that Former Captain America Steve Rogers has a son. He let it slip up at the hospital after trying to turn the question away from wither Tony and Pepper were divorced. While Mr. Rogers has not commented on wither what he said is the truth, we figured it is.

Steve chuckled at that. "Is there more Tony?" asked Steve.

All Tony could do was a nod as he started to read more:

Around two years ago, the nation was placed into shock as Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes got married. Everyone was even more shocked when Steve took, Bucky's last name. It looked like he was supporting a small bump, but no one could tell. 

Peter let out a groan. "Do they not have anything better to do?" Peter asked with a smile on his face.

Taking another sip of his beer, Tony spoke to Peter, "They do not, Peter. The press finds Steve's love life to be of interest. Add in the fact that I am not talking to them right now; they have nothing better to do."

He took another drink. Peter gave him a look. "Do you think you could talk to Morgan now or later?" Peter asked. He smiled at Tony. "Maybe it would help you both."

With a nod, Tony said, "I guess I could, but I just do not know if I am ready for that."

"It is okay if you are not ready, Tony. We understand, but maybe you could start small then work your way up to the big stuff," Steve said. 

Standing up, Tony went to throw the bottle away as Steve started to clean up. There were bottles of beer everywhere. Add in the fact that cans were laying around everywhere as well. "Steve, you do not have to clean up after me," said Tony grabbing another beer. 

He tried to hand one to Steve, who refused. "I can not drink right now, and I rather not drink anyways. It is safer if I stay away from beer, even if I can not get drunk," replied Steve. 

"Your loss," Tony stated as he opened his beer and drank it.

Peter looked over to Steve. "I think you need to take his beer away," said Peter. 

Giving a nod to Peter, Steve walked over to Tony. "Please hand me the beer," he said.

Tony shook his head as he took another drink. "I do not think so, Steve. I am going to drink as much as I want," Tony stated to him, then he turned to look at Peter. "I want you to stay out of this."

While Tony was looking at Peter, Steve took Tony's beer, which caused the man to turn around. "It is for your good, Tony," replied Steve as he started to walk away.

Tony would not let him. He turned Steve around to face him and hit him in the face. "You do not get to tell me what is for my good, Rogers. You are not my mother, nor will you ever be. It is your husband's fault that I do not have a mother anymore," snapped Tony.

You could tell he was drunk at this point. He punched Steve in the face again. Tony went to do it again, but Steve blocked him. "Peter, go get Sam or someone," replied Steve. 

Peter nodded as he raced from the room. You could see the angry look in Tony's eyes. He wanted his beer, and he wanted it now. "Steve, if you do not let me have my beer, then someone will get hurt," Tony stated, looking at him.

The man shook his head. "I will not, Tony. You are too drunk, and Morgan needs you. Besides, who is watching Morgan?" asked Steve, looking at him.

Tony shook his head. "I do not know. She was in her room. Playing, and I told her to stay there and play," replied Tony.

Giving him a look, Steve stated, "At least you know where Morgan is at. Tony, this is not healthy at all."

It was not, but Tony was not sure what else to do. His ex was dead, and his son may not be his. He went to sit down as Steve looked in a mirror. The man had a bruise on his cheek and did not look so hot. "I know it is not, Steve, but right now, I need this," said Tony as Sam came into the room with Bruce.

Tony smiled at Bruce. "Hey, Brucey bear, it is nice to see you," said Tony.

The man did not speak to Tony as he looked over to Steve. "How much has he had to drink?" Bruce asked them.

Sam shook his head. "I am not sure, Bruce. I have been upstairs most of the time. Steve may know," Sam replied.

Turning to Steve, Bruce asked him. "Do you know?" 

Steve shook his head. "He had a few while Peter and I were down here, but I am not sure how many he had before that," replied Steve.

Shaking his head, Bruce walked over to Tony. The man hugged him. "I am glad you came, Brucey. I have missed you. Pepper is gone, and I am all alone," Tony sang.

Bruce pulled Tony away from him. "Tony, let's get you upstairs and to bed. I want you guys to have Peter watch Morgan," Bruce said, taking charge. 

With a nod, Sam said, "Steve, go upstairs and rest. I will talk to Peter about watching Morgan. If you got Tony, Bruce, then I will head on up."  
Bruce smiled at him. "I think I can handle Tony, Sam and Rhodey should be here soon," said Bruce.

Since Bruce had things down here, they went up the stairs. Bruce looked over to Tony. "Bruce, I am sorry," he said.

The man shook his head. "I know you are, Tony. It is okay, but you can not do this right now. Not only does Morgan need you, but everyone else does as well. We are all here for you, but right now, Morgan needs you to be strong," Bruce stated.

A moment later, a man popped up on the screen. "Hey, Tony," he said.

Standing up, Tony turned to look behind him. "Hi, Rhodey," said Tony with a smile on his face. 

Boy, was he glad to see his other best friend? It had been a while since they had seen the other which had shown on both of their faces. "You best not be getting drunk," Rhodey replied.

Tony hung his head in shame. "I am sorry, Rhodey. Everything seems to be coming down at once. Right now, I am at a loss for what to do," Tony told. 

He had a pout on his face. Shaking his head, Rhodey replied, "Bruce, please get this man upstairs and some rest. Once he is sobered up, I want him to talk to Morgan. She is going to need to know, and the press here are talking like crazy. Also, I should be in first thing in the morning. If I can get things cleared up here."

Bruce smiled at Rhodey. "I can do that. I think it is best if he sleeps it off," Bruce stated, which Rhodey gave the nod too. 

"I agree. Now listen to Bruce and behave," said Rhodey as the screen went black.

Looking over to Bruce, Tony let out a sigh. He could tell that he was a mess right now. Taking a smell of his clothes, told Tony that he needed to shower as well. "I do not know what I would do without my best friends," Tony stated. 

Helping him over to the elevator, Bruce got him in as the doors closed. They rode the whole way up in silence. Once in Tony's room, Bruce had F.R.I.D.A.Y. deem the lights. He then helped Tony to bed. "You get some rest and do not leave this room unless you have to go to the bathroom," Bruce said in a mother hen's voice. 

Waving him off, Tony pulled the covers over his head. Bruce left the room, and Tony broke down crying. He felt like a failure in life. Nothing in his life was going right at the moment. Bruce made his way downstairs to the living room. He looked around as he took a seat on the couch. "Hi, Bruce," said Steve smiling at him.

He gave him a look. "I thought I told you to go get some rest," Bruce stated.

Everyone chuckled. "Well, you did, Bruce, but I chose not to listen to it," Steve stated as Jamie laid against him.

The little boy was thrilled to have his momma/dada around. Sam shook his head. "You know there is only one person, Steve will listen too, and even then, it is not a sure thing," Sam said with a smile on his face. 

Bucky grinned at that. "You all take a back seat to me. Now, who's the boss?" asked Bucky.

Bruce groaned. This was a crazy bunch, but he would not trade it for the world. They were his friends who had his back. Steve led his head against Bucky's shoulder and started to drift off. "He needs to take better care of himself," Bruce stated, giving Bucky a look.

"Do you think I do not know that, but try telling that to him. Steve thinks he has to take care of everyone else first. Most days he wears himself down," said Bucky. 

He started to rub Steve's head. "It happens," replied Sam. The man smiled at them. "Riley was that way as well."

"And you are not?" asked Bucky, giving him a look. 

Sam smirked. "Sure, but I am not as bad as them," Sam stated.

Bruce shook his head. "Okay, guys, we need to come up with a plan," Bruce started as Morgan looked from the game that she was playing. 

"What kind of plan, Uncle Bruce, and when will I see Mommy? I miss her," Morgan told the room at large.

Their hearts broke for the little girl and all that she was going through. But there was not much they could until Tony told her the truth. "Morgan, I rather have a plan in place in case something were to happen. I am not sure when you will get to see your mommy," Bruce told her as he put on a fake smile. 

She brought the fake smile by giving him one back. Morgan seemed to buy that answer. "Fine," she replied as she went back to the game.

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Look, guys, if Tony does not tell her soon, then maybe one of you guys should. This lying to her is not good. Morgan is going to catch on and with Christmas close. How do you think that is going to make her feel?" Peter asked. 

They looked at him. "You have a point, Peter, but it is not our place to tell it," said Bruce getting up to go get him some hot chocolate.

Shaking his head, Peter replied, "I know it is not our place, but right now, it does not look like Tony is going to tell her."

Grabbing a hot chocolate, Bruce walked one over to Peter, who smiled at him. "You and Morgan can share it. Tony is going to tell her when he is ready, too," said Bruce with a smile on his face. "We should respect that fact."

He took another seat on the couch. "I agree with Bruce. Tony needs space and time. Which we should give him. It is a lot to take in," Bucky stated. 

Everyone nodded. About two hours later, Bruce and Steve were at the kitchen cooking, while Morgan showed Jamie some blocks. "See, this is the color red, Jamie, just like part of the Christmas tree," Morgan told him.

Jamie shook his head as he tried to take the block and put it in his mouth. "Jamie, we do not do that," said James with a smile on his face.

His son just gave him a look as he looked down at the block with a smile on his face. He rolled the block back over to Morgan, who picked it up. "Hey, Sam, could you go see if Tony is awake?" Bruce asked, looking over his shoulder as he fried the meat. 

Sam nodded. Right at this moment, he wished he was back in D.C. rather than trying to hold the group together. "Sure, I can do that," he said with a sigh as he got up. 

Walking up the stairs, Sam made his way to Tony's room. Upon entering it, Sam noticed it was dark. He walked over to the window and opened the curtain. Tony groaned as the light hit him. "Sam, please let me sleep longer. Just a few more hours and I will be fine," said Tony as Sam walked back over to him.

He pulled the covers back. "No can do, Tony. Morgan is downstairs who you need to talk to. Add in the fact that dinner will be made soon," said Sam.

Tony shook his head. "Leave me alone," Tony said, throwing a pillow at Sam.

The shrugged his shoulders as he walked from the room. "Fine, Tony," said Sam looking at Steve, who had come up. They shared a look. "You can deal with him."

Steve gave the nod. "Fine, Bruce could use some help cooking if you want," Steve stated.

Sam nodded. "Sure, I can help Bruce," Sam said.

Giving Sam a look, Steve replied, "Are you okay, Sam?"

Shaking his head, Sam said, "I am fine, Steve. It is a lot right now and the holidays are always hard. It is when I miss Riley the most."

Steve smiled at Sam then leaned in to hug him. "I am sure Riley is watching over you. I bet he is getting a kick out of everything that is going on," Steve stated.

Sam nodded. "I bet he is. It sounds like something Riley would do. Thanks, Steve. Now try dealing with the mess," Sam stated as he bounced down the stairs. 

With a nod, Steve walked into the room. "Hey, Tony," said Steve.

Groaning again, Tony sat up. "Steve, do you think you could leave me alone?" asked Tony looking at him.

Steve shook his head as he came over to sit on the bed. "I wish I could, but I am sure Morgan wants to see you. She misses you. Right now, she is trying to teach my son colors, but he rather eat the blocks then learn," Steve said as Tony let out a chuckle.

The man sat up even more. Tony chuckled some more before coughing. "Thanks for that, Steve. I needed to hear that. I bet it is a hoot," Tony stated.

Steve gave the nod. "It is. Now, do you care to talk about anything before we go down the stairs? It might do you some good," said Steve.

All Tony could do was a nod. "Turn the lights on, F.R.I.D.A.Y.," said Tony.

A moment later, the lights came on as Tony pulled the cover off the rest of the way. Swinging his legs over the bed, Tony stood up. Steve sat there, looking at Tony. "I am all ears if you need me," Steve stated.

He held up one finger before speaking. "I have no idea what I am doing, Steve. Pepper always made sure Morgan had what she needed. I feel like I am going to screw things up, which I am," said Tony with a frown on his face. 

Steve gave him a look. "You do not know that you will, Tony. The first week that Jamie was home, Bucky told care of him. I felt like I would not be able to do as good as job as him because he grew up with siblings, and I had not," Steve told Tony, who chuckled.

"But, that is stupid, Steve. You can read and have siblings while still screwing up as a parent," Tony stated.

Steve nodded at him. "That is what Bucky said to me. I just had to get over it and help with Jamie. I could hold him and feed him, but that was about it. I took baby steps to get there, but in the end, I did it. Sure it was hard, but you can do it, Tony. I have faith in you," Steve told him. 

With a nod, Tony said, "You are right. I need to go downstairs and tell Morgan."

Slowly standing up, Steve walked over to Tony and hugged him. "It is not going to be easy at all, but just know that we will all be down there to help you," said Tony smiling at Steve.

Nodding, Tony started to walk down the stairs. Morgan smiled at her father as he came into the room. She ran over to him, giving him a big hug, which he returned. "I missed you, daddy," said Morgan.

"I can see that," Tony replied. He looked at her. "Where you trying to teach your cousin what the colors were?" asked Tony.

Morgan gave the nod. "I tried, but he would not listen," Morgan stated in a serious voice.

Tony laughed at that. "It is hard to get a Rogers or Barnes to listen to us. I have been trying to do it for the longest time, so good luck to you, Morgan," said Tony taking a seat at the table.

Morgan followed his suit, smiling at him. "Daddy, when is mommy coming home? I miss her," Morgan told him.

He gave her a look. "Morgan, listen, we need to talk," said Tony as the front door opened.

Looking over to it, Tony saw Rhodey, who smiled at him. "I thought you could use your best friend right now," said Rhodey smiling even more prominent.

Morgan hopped down then ran over to get Rhodey a hug. "I missed you as well," Morgan stated to Rhodey, who grinned.

"At least someone missed me, Morgan," Rhodey said in a joking voice. 

Tony and Rhodey came in for the hug before letting up. "I was just about to talk to Morgan when you came in. Maybe you could be there with me," said Tony looking at his best friend.

The man gave the nod. "I would like to be there, Tony, and this is for you, Rogers," Rhodey said, throwing him a paper that the man took to read. 

The two men walked from the room with Morgan, who did not look to happy right about now. There was a sad look on her face in the form of a frown. "I wonder what is going on," she said as they made their way up the stairs. 

Once up the stairs and into another room, Tony patted his leg. "Can you come here, Princess?" he asked her.

With a nod, Morgan walked over to him. She gave him a small smile. "Yes, daddy?" she asked him.

A frown appeared on Tony's face. "We need to talk about something," he started as he looked over to Rhodey, who nodded at him. "You know how mommy moved out."

She gave the nod. "I do," she replied.

"Well, something happened to her. She was killed in a car crash. Your brother is fine, though," said Tony trying his best not to cry.

Morgan gave him a look. "What does killed mean?" she asked him.

They had not talked about Death and what it was about. "It means that she died and will not be coming back," Tony said.

She looked between the two men before falling to the floor and losing it. Morgan spent a good seven minutes. She swings her legs around, crying as she did so. It was hard for Morgan to take that her mommy was not coming back at all. "So, I will never see mommy again?" she asked her father, looking up at him.

Tony gave the nod. "That is right," Tony said a little too harshly. 

It hurt him to be that harsh with his daughter, but he did not miss his ex. Morgan laid on the floor crying so, Rhodey looked over to Tony. "What about her son? Has anything come back on that D.N.A. test yet?" Rhodey asked.

Tony shook his head. "No, it has not, and I am worried that he is not my son," Tony stated. 

Shaking his head, Rhodey spoke words of wisdom. "All you can do is wait, Tony. If he is not your son, then it is not your problem anymore, but if he is, then you need to step up. Maybe go see him again."

It was Tony's turn to shake his head. "I can not bring myself to go see him. I know I should because right now, I am all he has got, but it is hard. It is like when I look at him, I see someone other than my son," Tony stated.

With a nod, Rhodey stood up. "I understand, Tony, but maybe it would help you both out. The kid must hate being stuck there," said Rhodey.

"He is just a baby, Rhodey," stated Tony.

Rhodey sighed. "A baby in a hospital with only nurses around to care for him. It must suck to him right now," said Rhodey looking at Tony. 

Tony shrugged. "I bet it does, but there is not much I can do right now. So spare me, Rhodey. Right now, I need a friend and not someone telling me how to live my life," an angry Tony said.

With a frown, Rhodey stood up. "Fine, I need to go get settled in, but I will be around if you need me. Look after Morgan and please Tony, do not start drinking again," said Rhodey as he left the room.

Morgan looked up to her father. "Is there any way I can see Mommy again?" she asked him.

Shaking his head, Tony said, "No, but if you ask Steve and Bucky, they would tell you differently."

She gave the nod as she sat there now in a calm state. Morgan had a lot to think about. She got up and ran from the room. Tony got up after her and followed her back down the stairs. "Grandpa Bucky," she says, bouncing in the room.

He smiles at her. "Yes, Morgan, did you need something?" He asked her.

Morgan nodded at him as she smiled back at him. "I did," she replied, coming over to him.

"Well, what is it?" he asked as Steve woke up and Bucky took Jamie, who started to stir.

"Is there a way to see my mommy again?" she asked him, getting right to the point. 

Bucky looked over to Tony, who shrugged his shoulders. He was against this, but if it brought his daughter some happiness, then he was not going to say anything against it right now. "There is. If your mother believed, then she is in Heaven with my mother, father, sisters, and Steve's mother," Bucky started as Steve nodded.

"You may get to see her again one day, but for now, she was called home for whatever reason, and she is watching over you," Steve said.

Morgan nodded at that even if she did not understand, and Tony was okay with how they explained things. "When will that day be?" Morgan asked, looking at them as Jamie pulled at her hair.

She smiled at him. "Hopefully, not for a long time," Steve replied with Tony chuckled at for some reason. 

"Okay," replied Morgan as she played with Jamie, who smiled at her. 

Steve looked over to Tony. "Are you doing okay now?" he asked.

All Tony could do was a nod. "I am, or I will be. Right now, Morgan needs me, and I am going to be there for her no matter what," said Tony.

Clint nodded at that. "Well, if you need a break, then I can take back to the farm with me. I am sure the kids would love to see her, and so would Laura," Clint said, speaking for the first time in a while. 

The man looked over to Clint. "Thanks for the offer, but I want Morgan here right now. Maybe some other time she could go stay with you all," said Tony.

Which was a relief to Natasha because she knew once Laura found out the truth, things were going to change and not for the better. "Well, Clint, I think we should order some food in. This way, no one has to cook," Natasha stated.

Steve stood up. "I do not mind cooking, Natasha," said Steve.

She shook her head at him as she stood up as well. Walking over to Steve, she gently guided him to sit back down. "I know you do not, but I thought I would give you a break," said Nat with a smile on his face. 

Steve gave her a look. "Nat," he started, but he was cut off by Clint. "You are not going to win this one mate. Just give it a rest. Now let us go pick up food."

All Steve could do was a nod as Clint walked out the door, followed by Nat. Tony spoke up. "What was that all about. They seemed in the mood to go out and get the food. Did something happen that I do not know about?" asked Tony.

Shaking his head, Rhodey said, "I do not think so. If something happened, then I am sure you would know about it."

"Plus, I have dinner, ready," said Bruce with a smile on his face.

Sam gave the nod. "Yea and I helped," added in Sam. 

Giving them a look, Steve said, "I forgot that you guys were going to cook dinner."

He had a feeling about what was going on, but right now, Steve could not say a word. "Maybe if you call them, Steve, they will come back," Tony stated. 

"Good idea," said Steve as he stood up and left the room.

In the other room, Steve pulled out his phone and dialed Clint's number since Nat would be driving. "Hey, what is up?" asked Clint with a smile on his face.

He smiled over at Nat, who smiled back at him. "Well, I forgot that Bruce and Sam made dinner. So if you guys could come back, that would be great," Steve stated.

Clint shook his head at Nat. "Well, we could, but I think Nat and I are going to eat out. We need some time to our selves after what happened," Clint said.

Steve let out a sigh. "Well, that is fine, Clint, but do not stay out too late, or they will think something is up," replied Steve rubbing his forehead.

He was too old but too young to play these games. "Hey, Steve, thanks for not saying anything about what happened a few days ago. It does mean the world to us. I have not told Laura yet," Clint said as Nat spoke up.

"Yea, thanks, Steve. We owe you a big one."

Steve sighed. "You do, but do not worry about it. Just figure out what you are going to do and do it," said Steve hanging up.

He did not want to deal with this more than he already did. Walking back into the other room, Sam looked up. "No suck luck on getting them to come back?" he asked. 

Shaking his head, Steve mouthed, "No."

Steve went to sit next to Bucky as Morgan went to sit next to her father. She smiled at him. "So can we eat daddy?" she asked, looking at him. 

He smiled at her. "If everyone else is ready to eat, then we can," said Tony with a smile on his face.

She looked around the room. "It is time to eat," she replied.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are panic attacks in this chapter.

Looking over to Nat, Clint asked: "What do you want for dinner?" 

Nat smiled at him. "Well, I do not know what I want for dinner. Maybe we should head back," Nat stated even if she did not want to head back yet.

Shaking his head, Clint said, "Let's go eat. I am hungry, and I am sure that, whatever, Bruce and Sam cooked will not be that great. Sam can not cook that we know of, and Bruce has not been in America for a while."

Nat nodded at him as she went to find a place. "You are right. Also, we could get burgers and not having worry about Steve looking at us funny," said Nat smiling some more. 

While they went to find food, everyone else was sitting down to eat. It was plain to see that Tony was lost in thought as everyone was filling their plates to eat. He was thinking back to the time when Morgan was trying her first food.

Flashback:

"Tony, would you hurry up. Dinner is almost made, and Morgan is going to try her first food for the first time," Pepper called out.

She hated the days when Tony worked late. He spent most of his days in the lab without a care to what Pepper was doing with Morgan, or it seemed that way to Pepper. The man who had been called appeared at the top of the steps. "You rang, Pepper. I just finished up on a project. So, I will not need to go down there for a few days," Tony said, walking over to Morgan.

He kissed her on the forehead as he sat down. Moving her bowl closer to him, Tony took the spoon and moved it towards Morgan's mouth. "Great, maybe I can get some work done now," replied Pepper as Tony put the spoon in Morgan's mouth.

Morgan made a face at him. Tony returned the look. "I would be making the same one if I had to eat mashed greens," Tony told her, which earned a giggle from Morgan and a glare from Pepper. 

"Tony, those mash greens are good for her. She is supposed to eat them for a week, then we can move onto something else," said Pepper giving him a look.

Tony let out a sigh. He knew this and did not need Pepper to tell him all of this. It hurt him that she did not trust him to know all of this. He gave her a look. "Thanks, but I know this Pepper. Now let me feed our daughter," Tony stated.

Pepper frowned as she took her plate and left the room. She was not going to deal with this today. Dealing with Morgan was enough for one day. "You can finish up with Morgan then get her ready for bed," said Pepper as she went to their room. 

End of Flashback

Tony smiled to himself as he was brought out of his flashback. "So, Tony, what were you thinking about?" asked Steve, smiling at him.

The man sat up straight and said, "The first time I fed Morgan mashed greens. She hated them, but it was a fond memory."

Steve gave him another smile. "I bet. I remember feeding Jamie for the first time. It was mashed carrots, and he decided since he did not like them, he was going to throw them everywhere. Bucky laughed his ass off," said Steve.

Bucky smiled at them. "That is not all I did. I even told Steve beforehand, how much Jamie was like him and should have been named after him, but Steve did not listen. Jamie proved me right," Bucky stated, which earned a laugh from Tony.

"Wish I could have seen it, Bucky. I would have laughed right along with you," said Tony smiling as he dung into his food.

He is rolling up his sleeves, and Steve dug into his food. "This is good," said Steve looking over to Jamie.

"Thanks," said Sam as he noticed Jamie playing with his food.

Morgan smiled. "I can help feed him," she said, getting up and going over to help.

Jamie gave her a look. "I think he wants to feed himself," Bucky told Morgan, who nodded.

"That is ok. I can watch Jamie eat," Morgan said as she sat down.

Jamie smiled at her before throwing some food at her. Morgan laughed at that. "Jamie, we do not throw food at girls. It is not polite, and that is not how we pick them up either," James scolded his son.

Steve looked over to Jamie. "Son, it is ok if you are not into girls and like guys or both. Do not let your father tell you otherwise," Steve stated. 

With a shake of his head, Tony replied, "You both are crazy. What if he does not like girls or guys and rather stays single his whole life."

"Fine by us," Steve replied to Tony, who chuckled. 

"Figures," mumbled Tony. 

He went back to eating his food, as did everyone else. "So what is new with you, Rhodey?" asked Sam as he cleared his plate.

"Nothing much really," replied Rhodey smiling at Sam as he finished off his food. "They keep me busy up there in D.C. You should come back with me soon."

Sam laughed. "Right, I should, but what if I do not want too," Sam said.

"Then it is your loss. I would love the company," said Rhodey smiling. 

Laughing again, Sam said, "I may come with you then. I could use the break from everyday life."

As food was being finished up and the table is cleared off, Tony went off into another room. Steve closely followed him. "How are you doing, Tony?" asked Steve.

Tony did not say a word as he looked down at his phone. He did not know what to say. "Do you think Barnes would mind watching Morgan? I need to go to the hospital," Tony finally said.

With a nod, Steve said, "Bucky will not mind watching her."

At that moment, Bucky came into the room. "I am going to put Jamie down for the night. Do you want me to get Morgan ready for bed as well?" asked Bucky, looking over to Tony.

The man smiled at Barnes before nodding. "That would be great. I need to head to the hospital anyway. I thought Steve could go with me unless you need him here," Tony stated.

"I should not need him here," Bucky stated as Steve walked over to him.

He kissed Jamie on the forehead, then a hug, which was returned. "Be good for daddy and get some sleep," said Steve.

Jamie gave him a look before laying his head down on Bucky's shoulder. "Well, I will go get the kids to bed, and you guys be safe out there," Bucky said, kissing Steve.

He returned the kiss before walking away with Tony. They went out to Tony's car. "No fancy sports car today?" asked Steve looking at him.

Shaking his head, Tony said, "No, I rather not. I do not want people to see me, and a sports car would draw attention to myself and you."

Steve nodded at that. "That is very true. So you going to see the little boy?" asked Steve.

Giving the nod, Tony stated, "I am. Plus, I want to see if the DNA came back yet or not. I want to know if he is my son or not."

"That is understandable. Do you think it is in yet?" asked Steve, looking over to Tony as he started up the car.

Tony smiled at him. "Only one way to find out," said Tony.

They drove in silence to the hospital. Once there, they got out of the car and were stopped by the media. While Steve and Tony did not want to deal with them, they would put up with them. Then maybe the press would leave them alone. "Mr. Stark, I was wondering if you had Pepper's funeral yet?" asked a female reporter. "And are you dating?" 

Tony put his shades on before speaking. "As of this time, I have not planned Pepper's funeral. Right now, my daughter needs me more. Also, I am not dating anyone at this time."

She smiled at him before turning to Steve since Tony did not give her much. "Steve, can you tell us about your son?" she asked, throwing the mic in his face. "Do you have a photo of him?"

Steve gave her a look. He was not going to give into this. The man put a frown on his face, which everyone noticed. "I have pictures of him, but I am not going to show you all. My son is my son, and he will not be in the media for a while if I can help it," Steve stated.

She pouted at that. The lady was trying to get any information that she could get. So she went in a different direction. "Have you two made up and what is happening with the accords?" she asked them. "Also, I was wondering when Barnes was going to face trial for his crimes."

Tony saw red, so he spoke his next words quietly, or else he was going to go off. "We are friends again. The two of us have made up, and it has been great to have Steve around to help. As far as the accords go, they are over with. Barnes pays for his crimes every day by having to live with the guilt of what Hydra made him do. Now, if you would leave us alone, that would be great."

The reporter gave him a look. "You know we can not do that, nor will we. If you are not going to give us anything, I will personally go digging for what we want," she told them.

Steve smiled at her. "Good luck finding anything, Miss. My private life is private, and I do not put much out there," Steve told her. 

Another reporter stepped up. "I am sorry for your loss. Mr. Stark. Do you think the Avengers will ever get back together?" asked the man.

Tony shook his head. "That is in the past. Steve and I are retired, but there are still Superheroes out there if you need them. We just decided to give it all up to keep our families safe," Tony told the man.

"Is it not selfish to retire when the world out there needs you? Your family will always be around," she stated. 

He looked over to Steve. The man was starting to breathe heavy and felt faint. "I need to get inside, Tony," he whispered to Tony.

With a nod, Tony waved the reporters off then walked inside with Steve. A panic attack was coming on, and it all had to do with what the reporter said. Once inside, Steve sunk to the ground. "Are you ok, Steve? Do I need to get someone?" asked Tony looking at him.

The man in question was now pale and looked worn out. Shaking his head, Steve said, "I will be alright in a few. This panic attack will pass. She just got to me too much."

Tony sank next to him. "You should not let her get to you," said Tony, which Steve nodded at him.

The female reporter came in. "I was not done with either of you yet. I want more from the two of you, and the moment your son was born, Steve was the moment the world was supposed to see him. It is your duty as Captain America to show off your son to the world," she said.

Tony glared at her as Steve started to shake. "It is not his place to show his son off to the world. Nor is it his duty. Plus, add in the fact that he is not Captain America anymore. So please leave us alone. Can you not see that he is having a panic attack," Tony stated.

He started to bang his head against a wall as a nurse came over. She smiled at them before turning to the lady. "I am going to have to ask you to leave, and if you do not, then I will call the cops," she said as Steve dung his fingernails into his arm, which started to draw blood.

"Fine, I will go, but this is not the end of this. I will have my story," Mary said, taking a picture of the two.

Walking away, the lady was already thinking of a headline. "I am sorry that you two had to deal with that. Let me get you checked out," she said to Steve.

Steve smiled at her. "I will be fine," he said, rocking back and forth still.

The nurse then turned to look at Tony, who said, "Steve will be fine. We got this, but thanks for the offer."

He pulled out his phone to call Bucky. Tony knew Bucky would know what to do in a time like this. Instead of calling Bucky, he face-timed him. Bucky answered on the first ring. "Hi Tony, checking in?" he asked him.

Tony shook his head. "No, I wish I was. Steve is having a panic attack and digging his nails into his arm," Tony said.

Bucky frowned. "It happens, and there is not much we can do. I normally hold him close like a bear hug until it passes. Can you turn the phone to him?" Bucky asked.

"Sure said, Tony.

Turning the phone to Steve, Bucky spoke. "Hey, Steve, how is it going? What happened?" Bucky asked him.

"The reporter said I was selfish for retiring among other things," Steve stated through his panics. 

His chest kept moving up and down. "Steve, listen to me. You need to calm down. It is not good for you to get worked up like this. Maybe she is right, but you have always been selfless, so do not listen to her. Just breath, and everything is going to be ok. Jamie is asleep. Morgan had fun helping, and now she is asleep," James stated.

Steve gave the nod as his breathing slowed to a steady pace. "Thanks, Buck. I will try to calm down and not let the woman's words get to me. I do not know why I keep letting this happen," said Steve.

"Because you are Steve, and it happens, Steve. Everyone gets them. It is nothing to feel bad about," Bucky stated. He smiled at Steve. "Now I am going to get off of here and get some rest. If you need me, then call me."

Steve nodded as Bucky hung up. The man was tired and needed the rest. It had been a long few days without much rest, which he had not told Steve about. "Thanks, Tony," said Steve as he stood up. 

Tony smiled at him. "No problem, now let's go check on that little boy," Tony said.

They went up to the floor that they needed. A nurse smiled at them. "Hello, Mr. Stark. The DNA test should be in soon," she told him as a male nurse looked up.

The man smiled at them. "I think it is in," he said with a smile.

He walked around the desk then motioned for them to follow him. Tony smiled at him. "Thanks, man. I want to know the truth," Tony told him.

The man nodded. "If I were in your shoes I would feel the same way," he said as they came to a desk.

The lady at the desk frowned as she looked at them. "What can I help you with?" she asked.

She was bored and tired, plus she did not want to do her job. It had been a long day already, and she was ready to go home if she could. "I was wondering if the DNA test was in yet for Mr. Stark?" he asked her.

With a frown, she said, "Let me check."

She clicked on the computer and looked around for a few moments while they waited. Steve still was not feeling hot, so he went to sit in a chair. His arm was not dried up with blood, but he felt weak. "It is in," she said.

He smiled at her. "Thanks, so we go to the lab?" asked the male nurse.

She gave the nod. "Hey Steve, are you alright?" asked Tony looking at him.

Steve gave the nod. "I am fine. A little weak, but I will be ok," Steve said, standing up.

They walked over to the elevator. The male nurse pushed the button. "I am Josh, by the way, and how far along are you?" he asked Steve.

Smiling at Josh, Steve replied, "I am four months pregnant. It's my husband's and I second child."

Josh smiled back at him. "That's great. My partner and I do not have kids yet. He wants to adopt a child in need as do I. We just have not found one yet that we like," Josh said as the elevator doors opened. 

With a smile, Tony said, "I am sure you will find the right one. It is great that you want to adopt it. A lot of kids out there need parents, and you would make a great one."

Beaming Josh pushed the button for the lab floor. "Thanks. We want to adopt an older child if we can. There are so many of them out there, and they need love. We have been together going on ten years now," Josh told them.

"Well, congrats on being together ten years. That is a feat," Tony stated.

Steve nodded at that. "It is. My husband and I have only been together about two years now, even though we grew up together," Steve told Josh. 

Josh grinned. "Awe, that is so cute. We are here," he said as he stepped off the elevator and onto a floor.

Stepping off as well, Tony looked around. The lab was not as great as his, but it did have a lot of cool toys that his lab did not have. "Wow, this is amazing," Tony said as a man stepped up to them.

"Hello, Josh, what can I help you with?" he asked Josh.

Smiling, Josh said, "A DNA kit for Stark."

The man nodded as he went to get it. A moment later, he came back over with a piece of paper. "Here you go," he said, handing it to Tony, who took it.

With shaky hands, Tony tried to open it but failed. So, he handed it to Steve, who opened it then looked at Tony. "Would you like me to read it?" asked Steve.

All Tony could do was a nod. "It says in the case of Baby boy you are the father," read Steve. 

Tony sighed with relief. "I can not believe that I am the father," Tony stated, looking over to Steve. The man was smiling at him. "Pepper cheated on me."

With another smile, Steve said, "Does that matter, Tony? Even if she cheated on you, it does not mean the kid would not be yours. The other man may have been the father, but if you had sex with her, then there was a chance the kid could still be yours, which it is."

Tony nodded at that. Steve was right. Just because someone cheated on you did not mean that the kid was not yours. "Shall we go see your son?" asked Josh.

Steve smiled at Josh. "I am sure that Tony would like that," replied Steve.

While they went back downstairs, Peter knocked on Bucky's door. He answered it, looking at Peter. "Do you need something?" asked Bucky looking at him.

Peter gave the nod. "I do. So can I come in?" he asked Bucky, who nodded.

So, Peter walked into the room. He was surprised that it was so neat and clean. Walking over to a chair, which was the only one in the room, Peter said, "I just needed to tell someone, and I was not sure who to tell."

Bucky looked at him. "What do you want to tell?" he asked Peter.

The man had a feeling where this was going to go, and he wanted to hear it first hand from Peter before saying a word. "Well, I have done a lot of thinking about my gender later," Peter started, which Bucky nodded at Peter. 

"Peter, I do not know if I am the man to help you. I am just gay, but Steve in nonbinary and could help you better," Bucky told him.

Peter nodded at that." I know, but I need someone to listen to right now. When I am ready to talk with someone, then I will speak to Steve," replied Peter. 

"Alright, Peter. You have got five minutes because I am tired and need to rest," said Bucky smiling at him.

Peter nodded at that. Sitting in the chair, Peter started up again. "I have given a lot of thought to my gender. I do not feel like a man at all. At first, I thought it was the stress from College, but now I know it is not."

With a nod, Bucky said, "I see."

"Yep, so I gave it more thought and came to see that I feel more like a female than a male. Now all I need to do is come out to people who are not my friends," said Peter.

Bucky nodded again, putting a smile on his face. "Do you want to talk about it with me?" asked Bucky.

"Sure, I guess," replied Peter.

He smiled at Peter as he went to sit on the bed. "What I mean by that is who are you afraid to tell and maybe we could role play it out," Bucky told Peter. 

Peter nodded at that. "I could do that," Peter stated, looking over to Bucky before speaking again. "I am afraid to tell Aunt May and Tony. MJ, my girlfriend, says it should not be hard once I get it out there."

Bucky nodded. "It will not, Peter. The hardest part is telling people, but once you do, then you will feel better. I know I did once I told people that I was gay," said Bucky.

With a smile, Peter replied. "I would like to try Aunt May first."

A moment later, he found Bucky putting on his best female voice. "Peter, is that you?"

Taking it from there, Peter gave the nod. "It is Aunt May."

He stood up, walking over to Bucky and sitting on the bed. "How is College?" he asked in a female voice. 

Smiling at Bucky, Peter replied. "Aunt May College is good, and so are my friends. There is something that we need to talk about."

With a nod, Bucky said, "What do we need to talk about?"

Peter froze up for a moment. He wasn't sure what to say now. It was hard to think under pressure. Bucky smiled at him as he put his arm around him. "It is ok. Take your time, Peter," said Bucky.

The young boy gave the nod as a cry was heard. "I best go get that," said Bucky standing up.

Peter nodded. "Yea, I understand. Thanks for listening and role-playing it out even if we did not get very far," replied Peter.

"You are welcome. Normally, Jamie sleeps through the night, but I guess tonight he decided to be different," Bucky stated. 

Peter smiled at that as they walked from the room. "Kids like to change things up now and again," Peter stated.

"That is true," Bucky replied.

While Peter went to do whatever he was going to do and Bucky went to check on Jamie, Steve and Tony made it back downstairs. "I will leave you guys here," Josh stated.

He quickly left the room to give them time and space alone. Tony walked over to his son and picked him up as the boy smiled up at him. While Tony knew that it was silent gas, he did not care. "Hi, mister. I need to give you a name now," said Tony walking over to take a seat. He smiled at Steve. "Are you good standing?" 

Tony did not want Steve to stand if he did not have too. With a nod, Steve replied, "I am good. Do not worry about me."

Tony nodded back at him. He spent the next few minutes holding his son trying to rack his brain for a name. "What shall I name you?" asked Tony as he looked down at his son.

Steve smiled at him. "Hey, Tony, if it is alright, I am going to go get fresh air," said Steve.

It was starting to get very hot in here, and Steve could not take it. "Yea, that is fine, Steve. Do what you have to," Tony said, not looking up from his son. 

So, Steve walked out the door, but he did not make it far before he fell to the ground. A loud crash could be heard. Tony put his son back in the crib before going outside. He saw a nurse around Steve trying to wake him up. "Can you tell us what is going on with your friend?" asked the nurse.

Tony shook his head. "I do not know. He said something about getting fresh air, but that is it. Earlier, he had a panic attack," Tony replied, looking at her.

It took three male nurses to get him up and into a room. Steve did not wake up. So, the nurse hooked him up to an I.V. then turned to look at Tony. "Your friend is going to be here for a while. We are going to run some tests on him. If you called his family, that would be great," said the nurse briskly as she walked from the room. 

Looking over to Steve, Tony silently let out a cry. He then walked from the room to call Bucky. It took several rings before Bucky picked up, and Tony could hear Jamie in the background wailing away. "Hey, Tony, what is up? I am trying to get Jamie back to sleep," Bucky said.

Tony sighed. This was going to be a long night. "If there is any way that you can get to the hospital, that would be great. Steve fell to the ground, and they got him hooked up to an I.V. now. They are going to run some tests to see what happened," said Tony into his phone.

Bucky sighed as he rocked Jamie back and forth. "I will be there as soon as I can, Tony. I will see if Bruce can watch Jamie because Sam is going to want to come," said Bucky.

With a nod, Tony said, "That is fine. Bruce should not mind, and I know Morgan will be in good hands."

"See you in a few," said James as Bruce came into the room.

He smiled over at Bucky before frowning. "What is going on?" he asked. 

Passing Jamie off to Bruce, James said, "I need to get to the hospital. Steve fell to the ground. They are going to test to see what has caused it. Can you watch Jamie and keep an eye on Morgan?"

Bruce nodded at Bucky as he tried to calm the little boy who did not calm down much. "Sure, I can. Sam is here to help if I need it unless he is going with you," said Bruce.

James smiled at Bruce. "I think he will want to go with me, but Rhodey will be here, and if I can, I will send Tony home," stated James. 

Walking from the room with Jamie Bruce said, "If Tony will come home, then it is fine, but if he wants to stay there, that is fine too. If it is alright, I may take Jamie for a ride."

Bucky smiled at Bruce. "That is fine. Jamie should like that. It should help him fall back to sleep," Bucky stated as they walked to Sam's room.

Knocking on the door, they got an answer in the form of Sam and Rhodey. "Hey, guys, what is up?" asked Sam.

He took one look at Bucky's face and knew something was not right. "Steve's in the hospital," Bruce said, seeing as Bucky was having a hard time repeating it.

Sam looked over to Bucky before hugging him. He then turned to Bruce. "Do they know why he is in there?" he asked. 

"He fell to the floor, and they are going to run tests to see why," Bruce stated.

Without grabbing his coat, Sam was out the door and downstairs as quick as he could be. Bucky followed suit. "Wait up, Sam. It is not going to do us any good to rush," Bucky stated.

Sam gave the nod as he got in the driver's side. "I know, but I want to get there as soon as I can," said Sam.

"I agree," was the reply Sam got.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of eating disorders in this. If that bothers you or you have a problem, you can skip this chapter. Stay safe, people. It will get better for Steve.

Driving as fast as he could, Sam made it to the hospital in record time. Once at the front desk and dodging the media, Sam looked at the welcome Nurse, which was a different one. "Hello, can you tell me where Steve Barnes is?" asked Sam.

He was glad that he did not slip up and say, Rogers. That would have gotten the media's attention, and it was not his last name anyways. She smiled at them as she clicked on the computer. "He is in room 405," the Nurse told them.

Thanking her, they headed down the hall and to an elevator. Pushing the button, they waited for it to stop then got on. "Do you think he is alright?" asked Bucky, looking at Sam.

Sam gave the nod. "Yes, I think he is. It is Steve, after all. I am sure it was just a fall from the panic attack he had earlier," Sam told Bucky, who nodded at that.

"You are right," Bucky said.

Sam smiled at him before helping him off the elevator. "Now, let's go see your boy," Sam stated.

They walked down the hall and found Tony outside a door. "Hey, guys," Tony replied to them once he saw them. "No, the test has not come back yet, nor has Steve woken up."

The two men nodded as they sat down. "So we wait," Sam stated.

Tony nodded at that. "All we can do is wait," said Tony.

They all took some seats inside Steve's room. Bucky sat closest to Steve. He took his hand and held it. "Hey, Steve, I am here. Jamie is with Bruce, and I am not sure how that is going to go. I left Jamie as he woke up. Hopefully, Bruce can handle it. Sam is here as well," Bucky stated.

Sam felt it was weird to talk to Steve while he was like this. But, whatever helped Bucky stay calm was fine with Sam. He smiled at Bucky before Bucky urged him to speak. "Hey, Steve. This is crazy, I guess, but I have done a lot for you, so why I should I not do this," said Sam with a smile on his face.

It felt good to talk to Steve after he had done it. Bucky looked over to Tony. "Did the DNA test come back?" he asked.

Tony nodded at him. "It did, Bucky. He is my son. I am trying to come up with a name," Tony stated, which both men nodded at. 

"You will come up with a name, and if you want, you can go back to him since we are here now," Bucky stated.

He knew what it was like to be away from his kid, and he did not want Tony to waste another second here if he did not need too. Tony smiled at Bucky as he stood up. "Ok, I will, but page me if he wakes up," Tony said as he left the room. 

Sam looked over to Bucky. "So how are you doing?" he asked the man.

Bucky looked at Sam before speaking. "Right now, I am fine, but who knows. I want to know what is going on."

Nodding at that, Sam leaned back into his chair. It was going to be a long wait and who knew when Steve would wake up. "Well, if you need anything, then let me know," Sam stated.

A few hours later, a doctor came into the room. Bucky sat up as the doctor smiled at him. Sam was asleep in his chair. "Hello, you must be Bucky. Tony told me that you would be here," said the doctor with a smile on his face. 

He walked over to the bed to check the monitor. "Yes, I am Bucky," replied Bucky.

The doctor gave a nod. "The test results should be in now," he said as he looked down at his StarkPad. 

Bucky nodded at him. "So, what is wrong with him?" asked Bucky, fearing the worse.

At that moment, Sam chose to wake up, which the doctor smiled at him. "His weight is lower than what it should be at this stage in his pregnancy. I mean his/her pregnancy. Has he/she had a lot of panic attacks lately?" the doctor asked.

Bucky nodded at that. "Steve has them once a week at least, or he has in the past. They were under control, but then things went haywire when he found out that he was expecting again," Bucky said. 

With a nod, the doctor said, "That is understandable. I want to keep him/her here overnight to be on the safe side. Like I said, his/her weight is lower than normal, and it looks like he/she has not been eating much. Have either of you noticed any changes in him/her?"

Sam shook his head. "Not that I have noticed, but then again, I have not been around him a lot lately," Sam said.

Bucky nodded. "I have not noticed anything, but then again, if something were going on with Steve, then he would hide it," said Bucky looking at the doctor. 

The doctor gave a nod. "I understand that. I have known people who have done that. Right now, we are going to keep an eye on him, and I want you to do the same once he goes home. It is important for both of their health," the doctor stated. He looked over at Sam. "Can you help with this.

Sam smiled at him. "I can. Should we write anything down that we notice?" asked Sam in a curious voice.

The doctor nodded again as he looked down at his tablet. "You should. His/her weight is at 150 when I would like it at least 170, but his/her OB will tell you what his/her weight should be," the doctor said. He smiled at them. "If there is nothing else, then I best go check on other patients."

With a quick nod, he left the room. Bucky looked over to Sam. "Why do you think Steve was doing this?" asked Bucky.

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea, Bucky. There could be several reasons why. In time, Steve will tell us when he is ready to," Sam replied.

With a nod, Bucky said, "You are right. I should go check on Jamie real quick."

Jumping up, Sam said, "Let me do it. You should be here if Steve wakes up."

Bucky sat back down because once again, Sam was right. "Fine, but let me know how he is," Buck stated as Sam left the room.

The man went downstairs and outside. He needed fresh air right now. Everyone needed him right now, and Sam did not know how much more he could give. It was hurting him already. While it was his job to help others, Sam felt tired from all the help he was giving. Walking to the side of the building, Sam called Bruce, who picked up on the first ring. "Hello, Sam," Bruce stated.

He had a smile on his face. Sam smiled at Bruce's voice. "Hey Bruce, I wanted to update you and check in on Jamie. Well, Bucky wanted to check on Jamie, but I told him I would," Sam said.

Bruce smiled some more. "Well, Jamie is asleep now. Once we got in the car and got moving, he fell asleep. So what's up with Steve?" asked Bruce. 

"Well, his weight is low, and his panic attacks are up. Not much else right now," Sam told Bruce.

With a sigh, Bruce thought about it. He had noticed little things that the others had not picked up. "That sucks, but it is things we can work son. I had noticed that he would pick at his food sometimes or eat it all then run to the bathroom when he got the first chance to do so," said Bruce.

Sam sighed. He had wished that Bruce told him sooner, but he understood why Bruce had not. "Bruce next time tell us this. I will tell Bucky what you told me. We need to work together, or else Steve is going to get the best of us," Sam stated.

"I know, but Steve is Steve, and he is going to do whatever he wants to do," said Bruce frowning.

Sam knew this, but they could work through this with Steve even if Steve would not let them. "True. I need to head back in, but thanks for this. Stay safe, and we should be home soon, or at least I will," Sam stated.

Bruce nodded, even if Sam could not see him. "I will. Keep us updated until you get home," Bruce said.

"I will," replied Sam before he hung up.

He walked back inside then to Steve's room. Once there, he saw that Steve was sitting up and awake. "Hey Steve," said Sam as entered Steve's room.

Sam walked over to the chair and pulled it closer to Steve's bed. He then sank into it. "Hi, Sam. It is good to see you," said Steve with a smile on his face. 

With a smile, Sam said, "It is good to see you as well. Do I need to tell you to take better care of your self, or are you going to do that?"

Steve frowned before speaking. "I am sorry about not taking care of myself, but I will do better next time. You do not need me to tell me to take care of myself."

Bucky nodded over to Sam. "We already had a long talk about things. How is Jamie?" Bucky asked.

Smiling some more, Sam replied, "Jamie is fine. He is asleep right now. It did not take him long to fall asleep. Has Tony been back down here yet?"

"He has not," said Bucky looked over to Sam, who was looking at him. "Do you need to talk, Sam?"

Nodding, Sam stood up. He smiled at Steve before saying, "We will be right back, Steve."

The two men left the room. Bucky gave Sam look once they were out of earshot of Steve's room. "What is going on?" he asked him.

Sam shook his head. "According to Bruce, Steve has been going to the bathroom a lot as soon as he gets the first chance," Sam said.

Bucky sighed, then hung his head. He had feared something like this was going on. It was hard to think that Steve could do something like this. "I feared Steve was not eating well or throwing it back up. So what do we do?" asked Bucky, looking at Sam.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Sam said, "I do not know. We need to be there for Steve right now."

"Ok, that is something we can all do. Maybe talk to Steve and figure out why he got like this," Bucky said.

Sam shook his head. "I think Steve should tell us when he is ready. Or the doctor should. I do not think he wanted us to know, and if we tell him we know it could make things worse," Sam stated.

All Bucky could do was a nod as Tony came over to him. He had a big grin on his face and a little boy in a carrier. "I get to take him home, and what is with the long faces?" Tony asked them. 

"That is great, Tony. Well, Steve has been making himself throw up these past few weeks, and what is his name?" Sam asked Tony.

Tony shook his head. "Did anyone catch on to this? His name is Aston," Tony stated.

It was Bucky's turn to speak. "Sam said Bruce told him this. Plus, I feared something like this would happen. I did not think that he would throw with it. Not when he was expecting a baby."

Tony nodded at that. "I understand. It is hard, and maybe it got to be too much for Steve. We won't know until we ask him or he tells us," said Tony looking at them. "So, all we can do is wait."

"You are right," said Bucky as they walked back to Steve's room. "Also, Aston is a cute name, Tony."

Tony smiled at him. "Thanks," said Tony as they entered Steve's room.

They all took a seat in one of the chairs in the room. Tony placed the carrier on the floor then turned to look at Steve, who smiled at him. "Hey, Tony, sorry if I scared you," Steve stated.

With a frown, Tony said, "You did a little but not much. I was more worried than anything, Steve."

Steve nodded at that. "Sorry to worry you," Steve replied.

Looking at him some more, Tony said, "Care to talk about it?" 

Shaking his head, Steve replied, "I rather not talk about it right now. It is not something that I am proud of."

Shaking his fist at him, Tony said, "You should not be proud of it. Do you know what could have happened, Steve? Even with the serum, you still need to take care of your self. You have a kid that needs you plus another one that depends on you right now. What if your throwing up caused you to lose it?"

Steve turned away from looking at Tony. He did not want to deal with the man right now. Even if Tony had a point, Steve was too worn out to care. He just wanted to sleep and go home when he could. "Tony, give it a rest," said Sam.

Tony shook his head. "I will not give it a rest, Sam. Steve could have killed his child, and you are telling me to give it a rest. I do not think so. He needs to know what he almost did. No matter how awful, Pepper was, she could have never done something like this," said Tony.

Seeing red, Steve turned to look at Tony. "Tony, you have no idea what my life is like, nor do you have the right to yell at me. It is not like you cared until we worked through things," Steve said.

Tony nodded at that. "It does not matter, Steve. I care now, and I am going to look out for you," said Toy smiling at him.

With a nod, Steve said, "I know I just woke up not too long ago, but I would like to get some more sleep."

Sam smiled at him before speaking up, "It is alright, Steve. I should go home and fill everyone in now. You get some rest and take care of yourself."

Standing up, Sam walked over to Steve and hugged him as he looked to Bucky, who smiled at him. Steve returned the hug. "Take care of yourself, Sam, and get some rest," Steve replied.

He looked at Steve. "I just told you to do that, and you use my own words against me," Sam said, joking. 

Steve gave the nod. "I do," he said.

Tony stood up and hugged Steve as well. "I best get this little guy home. Now you best listen to what Sam said and do it. I am sure Bucky will tell us if you are not resting and taking care of yourself," Tony stated, which earned a nod from Bucky.

"I will," he replied to Tony, who smiled at him. He then looked over to Sam. "Do you think you could give me a ride home?"

Sam nodded at him. "I can, Tony. It will not be a problem," Sam told him.

The two men left the room with Bucky looking to Steve. "I want you to get some rest like you want to. I am going to try to do the same, and we can talk later about what is going on inside of your head," Bucky said to him.

All Steve could do was a nod as he drifted off to sleep. With a sigh, Bucky fell asleep. Soon morning was upon them, and the doctor was waking Steve up. He looked up to the doctor, who was not smiling. "Hello, Steve," the doctor told him.

Quickly sitting up, Steve smiled at the doctor. "I hope you have good news, and I can go home today," Steve said.

The doctor shook his head. "I am afraid not, Steve. You are going to need to stay here a little while longer. You and the baby need to gain more weight. Plus, I would like you to eat something without throwing it up," said the doctor looking at him.

Steve shook his head. "I understand, but can I not do this at home?" he asked him.

Shaking his head, the doctor replied, "You could, but I would like to keep an eye on the baby's and your progress."

At that moment, Bucky chose to wake up. He looked up to the doctor. "Can Steve go home yet?" he asked.

The doctor looked over to Bucky. "I rather he does not go home yet. He needs to stay here so I can keep an eye on his weight, among other things. I rather he throws up here if he is going to continue to do it then at him," said the doctor.

Bucky nodded at that. "I guess I can live with that," he replied, looking over to Steve. 

Right now, all Bucky cared about was getting Steve better. If that meant that he had to stay here a little longer, then Bucky was going to do that. "Good now, the nurse will be in here in a few with food," the doctor replied as he checked Steve over and left the room. 

Smiling at Steve, Bucky replied, "I guess you are stuck here. I need to get some food, but I will be back soon. You need to eat then go back to sleep. Both of you need it."

Steve did not smile at Bucky as Bucky got up and hugged him. He did not say a word as Bucky left the room. Steve did, however, have a flashback.

Flashback:

"Steve," called out Bucky.

Steve smiled to himself as he came into the room. "Yes, Bucky?" Steve asked him, giving him a look. 

He smiled at Steve. "I am going to take Jamie to the park. Would you like to go, or would you like to stay here?" Bucky asked.

Steve walked over and kissed him. They then hugged a for a moment or two before Steve spoke up. "I am going to stay here. Right now, I would like to get some rest. The baby is wearing me out."

With a nod, Bucky said, "That is fine, Steve. Jamie and I can go to the park while you get some rest. I do mean you get some rest and not doing whatever it is that you do when we are gone. You need to rest, Steve."

Nodding, Steve replied, "I will rest."

Bucky got Jamie dressed, then grabbed the keys and went outside with his son. He got him in the car they drove off. Once Steve was sure, Bucky was gone, Steve walked over to their bathroom and went in. He was not smiling as he walked to the toilet. "I am sorry," Steve said to the baby as he started to sit down. 

He then placed his face over the toilet. A moment later, he could hear himself throw up. It started small before; it got bigger. Steve spent about five minutes in the bathroom, throwing up his breakfast. He quickly stood up afterward. A moment later, he had to grab the sink as he checked his phone. He had a text from Sam.

Sam: How is it going, Steve?

Steve quickly replied. 

Steve: Everything is great, Sam. Bucky took Jamie to the park. So, I am going to lay down after I wash my hands. 

Sam: That is great, Steve. You need the rest. I was texting to check-in.

Steve: Thanks, Sam. Now I am going to let you go so, and I can go rest.

He was not a big texter. Steve rather talk to the person on the phone, but with Sam being busy most days, Steve did not mind the texting that went on. He got a reply from Sam.

Sam: Get some rest, man. I will text you later.

A moment later, found Steve back over the toilet and throwing up. Every time Steve looked into a mirror, he wanted to throw up. His body looked fat to him. Leaning over the toilet again, Steve threw up. This throwing up sucked big time. "Are you done yet?" Steve asked his body but got no reply. 

Sitting up, Steve slowly got up. He made his way to the bedroom but did not make it. Instead, when Bucky got home, he found him on the couch. "Hey, Steve," Bucky called to him.

The man looked pale and sick. Steve sat up. "Hey, Buck," replied Steve.

Bucky was not going to comment on how Steve looked. He knew it would end up in a fight so, instead, Bucky said, "We had fun at the park. Jamie loved to swing. Also, I took Jamie for a walk in his stroller, which he loved.

"Nice," Steve replied, getting up.

End of Flashback.

On the drive home, Bucky thought about some things. The big question playing in his mind was why Steve did this. He could not see Steve doing something like this at all. Bucky decided to text Sam to let him know he was on his way home.

Bucky: Hey Sam. I am on my way home. Steve should be resting now. I plan to go back later, but I thought I would give him time to rest.

Sam: That's great, Bucky. It will give Steve tell to rest and heal up. Plus, you could use some good sleep or spend time with Jamie. Drive safe.

Bucky did not reply to that, but he did turn his phone on silent after turning the radio on. It was on a news station. "We are here to bring you a report," said the man on the radio.  
Turning up the radio, Bucky cursed under his breath. "Fuck, this can not be good."

Another person on the radio said, "What do you have for us, Ted."

The man named Ted started to speak. "We have learned that Steve Barnes is in the hospital. No word on why he is in there. Some people wonder if he lost the baby or something like that."

A female spoke up then. "You know what, I think, Ted?" 

Bucky could not see Ted smile, but he felt like Ted was smiling. "What do you think, Amanda?" asked Ted.

"I think his husband beat him, which landed him in the hospital again. It would not be the first time that Bucky Barnes beat Steve to a pulp, and I bet it will not be the last," Amanda stated.

With a shocked looked and voice Ted replied, "Are you sure that happened. Steve could be in there for anything."

Amanda smiled at him. "While that is true, Ted, look at the facts. It all adds up," Amanda told him.

At that moment, Bucky chose to turn the radio off. He did not want to deal with this at all nor this moment. Bucky knew that is what people would think once they found out that Steve was in the hospital. Looking at his phone as it rang, Bucky did not answer it. Tony frown at his phone. "Hey Sam, you just talked to Bucky? So why do you think he is not picking up?" Tony asked. 

Sam shook his head. "I do not know, Tony. Maybe he heard something on the radio like what we heard on the news," Sam said.

With a nod, Tony stated, "That's why I was calling to check on him. I do not want him to do anything stupid."

Sitting down, Sam started to think. He was not sure what frame of mind, Bucky was in right now. So who knew what Bucky would do. All they could do was pray and hope for the best. "Hey, Tony, why don't you take, Morgan and Jamie outside to play. It might do them some good," Sam stated.

Bruce gave the nod. "I agree with Sam. It would do them some good as well as you. I can watch Aston for you," said Bruce.

With a nod, Tony gathered up the two kids and went outside. Morgan smiled at her dad. "I am glad you are home, and thanks for coming outside to play with us," Morgan told him. 

He smiled at his daughter. "I am thrilled to get outside to play with the two of you," Tony stated as he sat on the ground.

Jamie started to play with some dirt while Morgan laughed at him. She joined Jamie in playing with the soil. "Is Steve going to be ok?" Morgan asked him.

Tony was not sure what to say to that, so he answered as best as he could. "I am sure; Steve will be ok in the end. He needs to stay in the hospital right now."

Morgan nodded at that before going back to playing with the dirt. She smiled at Jamie. "Are you having fun?" she asked him. 

All Jamie did was smile up at her. He then went back to playing with the dirt. A few moments later, Bucky pulled into the driveway. Getting out of the car, Bucky slammed the car door. He walked over to Tony with a frown on his face. "Hey, I tried to call you," said Tony looking up at Bucky.

Bucky sat down next to Tony and gave him a small smile. "Sorry, I was focusing on driving as well as keeping my mind off what the radio said. I can not believe they would go there even if I knew they would," said Bucky.

All Tony did was a nod. "Well, it was on the news as well. They said a few bad things about you and how Jamie would be better off without you. Plus, you had to be the reason Steve was in the hospital, and if you were not in jail soon then, Steve would die along with his kids since you are a killer or were," Tony stated. 

With a chuckle, Bucky said, "Wow. I see they did their homework, but not all of it."

Tony smiled at that. "True, but I think they want a story to put out there, and right now, this is a good one. It helps their cases of abuse even if it is not true in this case," Tony said.

With a nod, Bucky said, "Yea. Do you mind watching Jamie while I go wash up?"

"I do not mind watching Jamie. He is playing with Morgan, and you need to shower," said Tony. 

Lifting his arm, Bucky smelled his armpit, and he could smell it even worse now. "I do need to shower. Good thing I came home to your place then," Bucky stated as he got up.

Tony nodded at him. "Yep, it is a good thing. Jamie, Morgan, and I will be out here if you need us," Tony stated as Bucky went inside. 

Walking past Sam, Bucky did not say a word to him as he went to shower. He did not even notice Bruce in the room. "How is Steve?" asked Bruce.

Bucky did not answer him as he went up the stairs. All the man was worried about was getting a shower and washed up. The rest could be dealt with later. "At least he is going to take a shower," Sam said as he looked over to Bruce. "I could smell him over here."

Nodding Bruce said, "So could I. I hope he gets some rest. Sleeping at the hospital could not have been good for him. I bet he did not get much sleep."

Sam nodded at that. "True. I think I am going to talk to Rhodey and see what we can do about the media. I hate what they are doing," Sam said, standing up.

"That's a good idea, Sam. There is some food in the fridge if you want to take it up to him," Bruce spoke.

"Thanks," said Sam as he walked over to the fridge and pulled it out.

Bruce let out a yawn. "It is no problem, and I think I will go lay down," said Bruce as Nat and Clint came in.

Nodding Sam looked over to them. "Where have you two been?" he asked them. 

"We were out. Clint and I lost track of time," said Natasha looking at them. 

Clint gave the nod. "We did, and we are sorry for that. Where are Steve and Bucky?" Clint asked them.

Bruce did not say a word as he walked over to the stairs and up them. So the two of them turned to Sam. "Do you mind filling us in?" Nat asked him.

Shaking his head, Sam said, "I can not say sorry. You can go ask Tony who you walked by on the way in," Sam stated as he went up the stairs as well.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, mention of an eating disorder in this chapter. Clint finally comes clean to Laura. I hope you enjoy the chapter. I can not believe I put out two chapters in two days.

Clint and Natasha made a beeline for the door. With Natasha getting there first, she pushed the door open and went outside. The next thing Tony knew was Natasha zoning in on him. "Yes, Natasha?" he asked while keeping an eye on the kids. 

"What is going on?" she yelled.

Clint nodded at that. "Yea, Bruce, and Sam would not tell us a thing. So if you would be so kind as to tell us what is going on," Clint told him.

Taking Jamie and looking up to them, Tony replied, "Steve's in the hospital. He fell while we were there, and they kept him overnight. I think he is going to stay a few days longer, but I am not sure. You would have to ask James. Which you should do, Nat."

She gave him a look. "I can not, nor will I ask him. Clint can ask him for me," Natasha stated.

Shaking his head, Tony said, "You have to talk to him sometime, Nat. Now might be a good idea because you both care about Steve."

With a sigh, Nat said, "You are right, Tony. I will go talk to him in a moment."

Clint smiled at her. "It is going to be ok," he said, brushing his hand against hers.

Without missing a beat, Tony spoke to them. "What is going on between you two? First, you were sharing a room, and now you guys were out all night. Care to explain that?"

Nat smiled at Clint before going inside so she would not have to deal with this. So Tony turned to Clint, who spoke up. "Well, I rather not talk about it right now."

"If you are cheating on Laura, then she has a right to know. It sucks being cheated on, Clint. Come clean to her, and maybe things will work out for the best," Tony stated, getting up. He smiled at Morgan. "Would you like to get a snack?"

Morgan nodded at that. "I would like a snack, and so would Jamie," Morgan said.

Clint looked at him. "Tony, I know you mean well, but Natasha and I are doing nothing wrong," Clint told him. 

Shaking his head, Tony said, "Sure you are not, but if you then tell Laura. She has a right to know, Clint. I know what it is like to be cheated on, and it is no fun."

Clint nodded at him. "Fine, but you have to know that I did not mean to hurt Laura. I love her a lot. It just happened," Clint told him.

"Then tell her that and hope she forgives you," Tony said as he walked inside.

Upstairs, Nat walked to Bucky and Steve's room. She knocked on the door before entering. If she did not do it now, then Nat would never do it. Bucky was sitting on the bed, drying his hair. Nat was not smiling as Bucky looked up. "I was wondering what was going on with Steve. Tony told me a bit, but not much," Nat spoke in a quiet voice.

Standing up, Bucky walked over to the dresser and pulled out a shirt. He pulled it over his head, then slipped his arms in the two holes. "Steve is in the hospital because he has an eating disorder, or it appears that he has one," Bucky said, pulling the towel off of his head. 

He threw it into a basket as Nat looked at him. "What?" she asked, looking at him before speaking again. "How could you let this happen?"

Walking back over to the bed and sitting down on it, Bucky said, "I did not know that it was going on. I had an idea, but I was not for sure. So do not yell at me, Nat. It is not like you have been around."  
Nat gave him a dirty look. "I know I have not been around. It is your fault for that. We have a history," Nat started but was cut off. "We do have a history. One that you do not want to talk about," Bucky said, lying back on the bed.

He put his hands behind his head. Nat frowned. "Bucky, you and I used to date. Which I am sure you told, Steve about," she said, which Bucky nodded at her. "So you understand why I do not want to talk about it. My life is a mess right now."

"Of course it is, Nat. I know that you are sleeping with Clint, and I am sure you guys were sleeping together last night as well. It is not hard to tell," Bucky told her. 

Sighing, Nat sat on the bed. She gave him a look. "Fine, Clint and I are sleeping together. We slept together last night, as well. We did not mean to hurt Laura, but it just happened," Nat said.

Bucky nodded. "I understand that Nat, but you did hurt Laura the moment you guys slept together. How do you think Clint and her are going to get over this. She loves you like family, Nat. You need to come clean to her," Bucky stated as Clint peaked his head in. 

"How is it going?" asked Clint, stepping into the room.

He looked over to Nat, who now was crying. Clint looked to Bucky, who frowns. "I know that you guys are sleeping together, and no, Steve did not tell me," said Bucky.

Clint nodded at that. "So, what do we do now?" Clint asked Nat, but it was Bucky who spoke.

"You tell Laura and hope she can forgive you. Also, I would not tell anyone else until you know fully what is going on."

With a nod, Clint looked to Nat. "We should go tell Laura now. The kids will be busy playing, so we should be safe," Clint stated.

Nat nodded as she got up. She wiped her tears away. "Ok, thanks, Bucky. Maybe we can talk later," Nat said.

Bucky smiled at her. "I would like that. I do not like what either of you did, but it is not the end of the world. So, stay strong and hang in there," Bucky told them.

They both nodded as they left the room. Walking to Nat and his's room, Clint pulled out his Starkpad. He entered their room with Nat, who was not smiling. Pulling up Starktime, Clint called Laura. She answered on the first ring. "Hi, Clint and Nat," she said.

Nat was not smiling at Laura, and Clint looked a little lost for words. She gave them both a look, which gave Nat a voice. "We need talk, Laura," Nat told her.

Laura looked at them. "What do we need to talk about?" she asked them.

Looking over to Clint, Nat said, "You need to tell her."

Nodding, Clint started to speak. "Laura, I love you with all my heart, but something happened that I am not proud of."

Laura gave him a look. "Clint, you know you can tell me anything," Laura said. 

They both let out a sigh before Clint spoke up. "Laura, this is not easy to say, but I have to tell you something important."

She gave them a nod. "Go on, Clint," Laura replied.

"Nat and I slept together twice. Once before and again last night. We did not mean for it to happen, but it did. I am so sorry," Clint said as Laura began to cry.

Laura looked up to the two of them. "Is there anything else?" she asked through her tears. 

Nat shook her head. "That is all, Laura. As Clint said, we did not mean for it to happen. The first night was my fault. I could not sleep, and I took it too far. I understand if you need time," Nat told her.

Laura nodded at them. She did need time to think it over. As what they told her was a lot to take in. They had slept together, but it had not meant anything they had said. How could she be sure that they were telling the truth? "I need a lot of time, guys. Clint, you and I will talk later. Nat has a nice day," she said as she hung up. 

Looking over to Clint, Nat asked him. "I do you think she meant for me to have a nice day?"

Shaking his head, Clint said, "No."

With a nod, Natasha put her head on his shoulder. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

Clint was not sure what they were going to do. He knew that Laura was angry and that there would be hell to pay later, but right now, he was not sure. "I guess we wait it out," said Clint. 

He held onto Natasha. They both knew they screwed up big time. There was no coming back from this. All Clint knew that he did not want to lose seeing his kids. "Clint, we should stop doing this even if it only happened twice," Nat told him.

Giving the nod, Clint said, "I agree. I do not want Laura to take my kids' way."

He started to cry, which Nat started to pat his back. "She is not going to take your kids away from you, Clint. Laura may hate you right now, but she is not that mean. I am sure the two of you can work through this," Nat told him.

On the one hand, Nat was right, but, on the other hand, she was not right. He had feelings for Nat and was not sure how he was feeling about Laura right at this moment. It bugged Clint that he did not know his feelings for his wife. "You are right, Nat, but what if she does take them away. I gave her a reason, too," Clint told her.

She gave him a look. "That is crazy talk, Clint, and you know it. No matter what Tony felt for Pepper or what she did to him, he would never have taken Morgan away from her. She was her mother after all," Nat spoke as she got up and went over to her bed.

Crawling into it, Nat fell asleep fast. Clint laid down in his bed to take a nap. Meanwhile, Sam and Rhodey were having a beer in Rhodey's room. Rhodey was eating the food Sam brought up. "Sam, I do not know what we are going to do about the media. Maybe we could do a press release with Tony's, Steve's, and Bucky's ok, but other than that, I do not know," said Rhodey.

Sam smiled at him. "I agree there. I do not think we could do it, though. Everyone would want to hear from the three of them," Sam stated.

"True. Pepper was always good at these things even if she was not good for much else," Rhodey stated.

"Yep," replied Sam as he took a sip of his beer. "Can I ask you a question?"

Rhodey nodded at Sam. "You can ask me anything," Rhodey said as he sat his beer down. 

With a sigh, Sam said, "How do you deal with all of this? I feel like I am a failure and can do nothing right."

Letting out a laugh, Rhodey replied, "I do not know. I guess I got used to it, which means I deal with it now. For the record, I do not think you are a failure. You are doing a great job of handling this, Sam. A lot better than most guys I know and given that you are a younger person that makes it even more special."

Sam nodded at that. He was glad for this talk with Rhodey, who made him feel better. "Can I tell you something?" Sam asked.  
Rhodey nodded. "You sure can. I am glad that we are talking and opening up to each other," Rhodey replied.

"Times like these are when I miss Riley the most. He was someone that I could talk to about anything. Riley told me one day he was going to take me home to meet his family," Sam said.

Rhodey smiled at that. The Riley kid sounded like a decent person. "Were Riley and you together?" Rhodey asked.

He was not judging Sam but was curious if they were an item. Sam thought about it before he spoke. "We were not an item, but Riley was bi. He told me when we were overseas. I am not sure how I felt about him. I know I am not gay, but I do not know if I am bi or not."

Giving the nod, Rhodey said, "Well, it is ok not to know that Sam. There is nothing wrong with being Bi or Gay. I would have liked to meet Riley. Maybe you can talk to Steve, and he can help you figure out how you feel."

Smiling, Sam said, "That's a great idea, Rhodey. I will talk to Steve about it. If Riley was alive, I know he would want to meet you. He talked about you a lot. Everyone in the Air Force did. Is the food good?"

Rhodey smiled back at Sam. "It is. I knew that I was a big deal, but I did not realize that I was this big of a deal. It never crossed my mind," Rhodey told Sam.

"Well, maybe it never had because you are humble and do not care about things like that," Sam told him. 

Standing up, Rhodey went to set his plate on the end table then grabbed them two more beers. Walking back over to Sam, he handed him one. Sam took it. "Maybe I am, but I do not think that I am that humble, Sam. I have made my fare of mistakes," Rhodey said.

Sam nodded. "True, but you always own up to your mistakes," Sam said with a smile on his face as he took a drink. 

Taking a drink himself, Rhodey said, "Thanks. What is the point in hiding behind your mistakes, Sam? If you make them, then you should own up to them."

There was a knock on the door a moment later. "Come in," Rhodey stated.

Morgan bounced into the room, followed by Tony and Jamie. "Hi guys, Morgan wanted to see her favorite uncle," said Tony with a smile on his face.

Standing up, Sam walked over and took Jamie, who smiled at him. He then walked back over and sat down. Sam made sure that his beer was out of reach of Jamie. Steve or Bucky would have his butt if Jamie got a drink of beer. "Hello, Morgan," Rhodey said to her. 

She smiled at him. "Hi, uncle Rhodey. I have missed you. Did you know that my mommy died?" she asked.

He nodded at her. "I did. Your father told me," said Rhodey. 

Morgan nodded. "Ok," she replied as she went to sit on his lap. 

A moment later, Bucky came into the room. He could not sleep at all. "Is this where everyone is meeting?" Bucky asked as Jamie reached for him.

So, Bucky walked over to Jamie and picked him up. "It is," replied Sam giving him a dirty look. "Hey, James, I just got to hold Jamie. So how are you going to take him away from me?"

With a smirk, James replied, "It is Bucky or Barnes to you, and he is my son."

Shaking his head, Rhodey said, "He has you there, Sam. You know Jamie, and if one of his parents is around, then is not going to want anyone of us."

"True, but still. I thought Jamie and I were close or getting that way, "Sam stated. 

Tony smiled at them. "Morgan was the same way. She was fine with whoever as a small child until Pepper or I came into the room," said Tony looking over to Sam. 

The man let out a groan. "What is that a thing with all kids?" he asked.

"You would have to check with Clint on that," Bucky stated.

Rhodey spoke up just then. "What is going on with Nat and him? They were not here last night, and now they are nowhere to be found."

James spoke to Rhodey. "I can not say nor will I say. It is their place to tell you if they want you to know. I do know that they are in their room right now. They left my room after Nat talked to me, which was weird since she has not talked to me."

"That was my doing. I sent Nat to you so that you guys could talk about stuff," Tony replied.

He smiled over at Tony. "Thanks for that then. We had a good talk, I believe, or it seemed that way. I think we plan on talking again, or at least we talked about it," James said. 

Tony smiled at Bucky. "That is good. At least she is talking to someone," said Tony.

"It is, and I think she needs someone right now. Either she is going to get hurt or someone else will," said Bucky, which Tony nodded at.

He agreed with Bucky. Even if Nat did not tell him the truth and Clint was trying to beat around the bush before he said a word, Tony was behind what Bucky was saying. "I do not think Nat is going to be the one to get hurt. Clint loves her too much," said Tony.

Bucky nodded at that. "You do have a point there. I wish they would come out with the truth instead of beating around the bush. It sucks that they seem not to care who they hurt as long as they do not have to emit the truth to each other," Bucky stated.

Rhodey spoke up. "Well, if what I am getting from this is that they are sleeping around, then they will not emit to each other how they feel about the other. Clint is not going to leave Laura because he is afraid that he will not see his kids again, and Natasha does not want to ruin a family."

"You make some excellent points, Rhodey. So what do we do to help them?" asked Sam.

Tony spoke up then. "We do not help them. I will not help a cheater out. Knowing what Laura is going through right now, I can not see helping them out. They may be friends of ours, but I can not and will not do it. If they tell Laura which I hope they will, then maybe I will help them figure this out."

He stormed from the room. Tony was angry right now. How could Sam think about helping them after they cheated with each other? "I think that is my cue to go as well. Let's go play Jamie," said Bucky taking Jamie from the room.

Morgan hugged Rhodey before leaving the room. Rhodey looked over to Sam. "I think Tony is angry with you, and for a good reason, Sam. Right now, we should not be helping them through this. The way to help them is to tell them to come clean, and if they have done that, then we step back," Rhodey said as Sam gave the nod. 

"I understand," said Sam as he stood up. 

He wanted to go get a nap in before he went back to the hospital. "Good, now go get some rest, and we can talk later," Rhodey said as Sam left the room.

Sam walked down to his room then went in. Pulling out a picture of Riley, Sam spoke to it. "I wish you were here, Riley. You would know what to do in times like this. It sucks that I can not speak to you."

Quickly and quietly, Sam put the picture away. He then pulled the covers back on his bed and sat down on it. Slipping his shoes off, Sam got in bed and pulled the covers over him. While that was going on, James looked to Jamie. "What are we going to do with these people? They are all crazy," said James. 

Jamie gave him a look before going back to his blocks. He just wanted to build right now and did not care about anything else at the moment. A moment later, his phone sent a text message. 

Steve: Buck, I would like to see Jamie, and I can not sleep.

Bucky read it real quick and thought about what to reply. He then replied to Steve.

Bucky: You need to try to sleep, Steve. Jamie is playing right now, and I do not feel like getting back out in traffic. I would hate to drive in it. 

Steve: Please? 

He frowned before he replied to Steve.

Bucky: I am sorry, Steve. You need to rest, and so does the baby. Jamie can always see you later. 

Not waiting to see what Steve would reply back, Bucky turned his phone off so that he would not have to deal with it. 

Steve looked down at his phone and started to cuss. "Fuck you too, Bucky."

He broke down and started to cry. All Steve wanted was to see his son for a bit. Was that too much to ask of Bucky. Even if it was only for an hour, it is not like Steve was getting out of here anytime soon. A nurse walked into his room. "I see you are awake," she said, looking at him.

All Steve could do was a nod as she looked him over. "What is wrong?" asked the nurse, who finally noticed his tears.

"I wanted to see my son, but my husband is a pain in the butt. He says I need rest right now," Steve replied. 

She smiled at him. "I know it sucks, but your husband is right. You do need to rest, and your son will be waiting to come to see you. How old is he?" she asked him.

Steve smiled at her. "He is a year old, but I miss him," replied Steve.

Nodding, she said, "I understand. I missed when my kids were that little, but you have someone else to take care of as well."

Sitting up, Steve tried to get up but was having trouble. He had to go to the bathroom. "Can you help me?" he asked.

Even if he did not like to ask for help, the nurse nodded as she came round to the other side of the bed. "You need to go to the restroom?" asked the nurse.

He nodded as he got out of bed. She helped him to the bathroom then waited outside for him. Steve stood to pee before sinking to the ground. He sat there and cried for a few moments before he leaned over the toilet to throw up. "This sucks," Steve said, but he knew it was going to happen for a while.

"Are you ok in there?" she asked as the doctor came in.

"Yea," was the reply she got.

The doctor gave her a look. "Is Mr. Barnes in the bathroom by himself?" he asked her.

The nurse gave a nod to the doctor. "He is. Steve said he had to go, so I let him," she replied in a calm voice.

He was not thrilled with that answer. "Mr. Barnes is not allowed to go to the restroom by himself. He has an eating disorder," the doctor told her.

Without waiting for her to say anything, the doctor opened the door and went in. Steve looked up at him. "I had to pee, then I sank to down to the floor to cry, which lead me to throw up," Steve told him.

The doctor noticed that Steve looked pale and sick. "Are you eating enough?" asked Mr. Green.

Steve gave the nod. "I am trying to, but it seems, the more I eat, the more I throw up. It's not like I am trying to do it now like before," Steve told Dr. Green, who nodded.

"I understand, Steve. This eating disorder is out of your control now, but until you get better, you can not leave here. So you need to let us help you. I am going to help you back to bed; then, you will get some rest. Food will be given to you ever two hours to see how you deal with that," Dr. Green stated.

Steve nodded as Dr. Green helped him up. "Thank you," said Steve.

"You are welcome. We need to get you healthy for that baby," said Dr. Green.

He helped out of the bathroom and back to his bed. Once Steve was in bed, they both left the room talking to each other and making a plan. Steve placed his hand on his small bump. "Everything is going to be ok. We will be fine once this gets under control. I love you so much," Steve said.

Not a moment later, a voice inside of his head said, "You may love it, but the thing is causing you to gain lots of weight. Soon you will be so fat that your husband does not want you. Why do you think he does not want to bring Jamie here. It has nothing to do with your or the baby needing sleep. It all has to do with the fact that you are getting fat."

Steve laid there and tried to tune out the voices in his head by closing his eyes. While he could not fall asleep, it seemed to do the trick this time, but Steve was not so sure about next time. "Please leave me alone," Steve said aloud. 

He wondered if Bucky heard voices inside of his head? And if he did, was this what it felt like? Like you had no control over what went on inside of this head of yours. Soon Steve was asleep. The nurse looked at Dr. Green. "I am sorry about back there. I had read his file, but I did not stop to think," she told him.

Dr. Green waved her off. "It happens to the best of us. I am sure that he did not mean to go in there to throw up as he told me. You need to keep a better watch on him next time," Dr. Green said.

The nurse smiled at him. "I will, Dr. Green. Is there anything else I can do?" she asked him.

Shaking his head, Dr. Green said, "You need to keep watch on Mr. Barnes and make sure that he does not throw up again. Also, make sure that he eats the food every two hours, and when you go home, let the other nurses know as well."

He left her there, standing at the nurse's station. Micheal looked at her. "Girl, you are lucky that is all you got. Dr. Green has done far worse to nurses who did what you did," Micheal said.

"I know," replied Tara. 

She sank into a seat. "Well, you know what they say. If you can not beat them, then join them," said Micheal as he went back to work.

Bucky looked down at his phone and turned it back on. He saw that Steve did not text him back. "Good, maybe you will get some sleep now," he replied to himself.

In Nat and Clint's room, Nat was still asleep. Clint had woken up and decided to call Laura, who picked up on the first ring. Slowly Clint got up and left the room. "What do you want, Clint?" she asked in an angry voice. 

He quietly went down the stairs and was glad that everyone was upstairs. Clint walked outside. "I know you are angry with me, but we need to figure this out for the kids' sake, Laura. Where do we go from here?" Clint asked her.

Laura sighed as she looked at the family photos. "I do not know, Clint. Honestly, you need to figure out your feelings for Nat first, and then we can talk. I know that you love her, even if you will not say so. Tell Nat how you feel and see how she feels because, honestly, Clint, I do not think we can come back from this," Laura said into the phone.

Sighing into the phone, Clint knew Laura was right. There was no coming back from this. He had screwed up big time. Add in the fact that he did love Nat made things worse. "I understand, Laura. I am so sorry that I cheated on you. It hurts me that I hurt you because you are an excellent person Laura. I promise to let Nat know how I feel," said Clint.

Laura gave the nod on the other end. She was not smiling, but Laura did have tears running down her face. "Clint, I need to go. The kids need me, but when you do tell Nat the truth, then call me, and we can talk more," she said, hanging up the phone as Tony stepped outside.

Clint had tears running down his face. The older man sank next to him. "Well, at least it is out of the way now. I am not here to pity you or to feel sorry for you, Clint. You brought this on yourself, but I will you that I am proud of you for coming clean," Tony said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is mention of an eating disorder in this chapter. We will get to the funeral in the next chapter, among other things. Stay safe, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

"Thanks, man," said Clint patting Tony on the back. "I think my marriage is over, but I love Nat, and if I have a shot with her, then I need to take it. Laura says we can talk more after I tell Nat."

Tony looked at him. "Clint, I want you to think about things. I am not saying you should not tell, Nat how you feel because you should. But, if you have a chance at saving your marriage, then you should take it for your kids' sake," Tony told him.

He frowned at that. "I do not think I can, Tony. It's over, and I am sure that is what Laura is going to say. There is no coming back from this. I fucked up, Tony," said Clint.

The man turned his hearing aids off, so Tony turned to face him. "Clint, you are right. It's over with Laura and you, but man, I do not know if you have a shot with Nat. She is not going to be happy that she ruined things for you," Tony said.

With a nod, Clint signed, "I know, Tony. How could she love a man knowing that he could cheat on her since he cheated on his wife?"

Tony sighed. He wished Steve was here or Bucky. They knew sign language when he did not. "Can you turn your hearing aids back on?" asked Tony.

Shaking his head, Clint stood up. "Sorry," he signed, placing a fist over his chest.

Clint ran back inside to talk to Natasha. Right at this moment, he did not care if he woke her up. All Clint wanted to do was get this out in the open. To see where they went from there. He took the steps two at a time. Once in their room, he walked over to Nat and shook her awake. "Yes?" she asked, sitting up.

He started to sign at her. "Nat, we need to talk."

Nat gave him a look. She did not mind signing at him, but she wished he would keep his hearing aids on. It made things easier, but it was ok. "What about?" she signed back.

She knew sign language very well. Natasha had learned it so that when they went on missions, it would help them out. "I talked to Laura, and she told me I should come clean."

Nat sat up even straighter then got out of bed. "What are you talking about?" signed Nat as she placed her shoes on. 

"I love you, Nat," he signed, pointing at himself, then crossing his arms and finally pointing at her.

She let out a sigh. This was hard enough without Clint adding this in. Nat was not sure how she felt about Clint. Add in; she still had little feelings for Bruce even if it was not much. "I still love, Bruce, I think," signed Nat.

It would buy her sometime before she had to tell him how she felt. Clint hung his head. It sucked big time, but he would have to live with it. "I understand, Nat, but I thought it was over between you two?"

Nat sighed again. "It is, but it does not mean that I am ready to move on," she signed.

She quickly walked from the room, leaving Clint standing there. In her eyes, there was no more to say at the moment. They were done talking. She ran into Bruce in the hallway, which was kind of weird. He smiled at her. "Are you ok?" he asked her.

Leaning into Bruce, she replied, "I do not know, Bruce. It hurts. I do not know what I feel, and Clint told me that he was in love with me."

Bruce shook his head. "Nat, you need to figure out how you feel and tell him the truth. If he cares about you, then he will respect whatever you tell him. I am your friend and will be here for you as a friend even if I do not like what you did," Bruce stated, holding her close.

Nat wanted to kiss him but knew Bruce was not the type for kissing. "Thanks, Bruce. You are a good friend," she said, hugging him.

Sometimes, Bruce hated being a good friend. While it was great to be there for everyone, they weren't always there for them when they needed you. "You are welcome, Nat. How about we go downstairs, and I can heat you some food. Plus, you should not have run out like that. You and Clint need to work through this," Bruce said as he held onto her, and they walked down the stairs.

Seeing as Clint was hungry, he went downstairs as well after leaving their room. He looked over to Nat and started to sign. "You can not leave like that, Nat. I was talking to you. We need to work this out."

Bruce was not paying attention to this. He was going to stay out of this fight and get Natasha some food. After her's was heated up, he fixed Clint one as well. "Look, Clint, there is nothing to talk about, and I can too walk away. Laura was your first love, and I am some afterthought," signed Nat.

Shaking his head, Clint signed. "You are not, Nat. I have always loved you. It has always been you, Nat. I just married Laura because I could not have you. Yes, I love Laura, but not like I love you."

Bring the food over. Bruce sat fon the table. He knew a few signs, but not many, so he looked at Clint as he spoke. "Food is done. You two need to talk, but I think it can wait until tonight after everyone has gone to bed. No one wants to hear this, and right now, we have bigger problems than your love life."

Clint nodded at that as he sat down. "Sorry," said, rubbing his chest. 

Nat sat down to eat as well. "I am sorry as well, Bruce," she replied as she dung into eat.

Without saying a word, Bruce went over to the couch to sit down. He did not want to deal with them right now. They seemed to only be worried about their own lives at the moment. "Sure, you both are," he mumbled under his breath. 

Clint looked over to Nat and asked in a quiet voice, "What is his problem?"  
She shrugged her shoulders as she dug into her food. Taking a bite, Nat said, "I have no idea."

So, Clint went back to eating without saying anything else. A moment later, Rhodey came downstairs with James and Jamie. Nat stood since she finished her food. "Are you going to the hospital?" she asked James.

He shook his head. "Not yet, Nat. I am giving Steve more time to sleep," Bucky said as Jamie held onto his father.

Nat gave Bucky a big smile. "Do you need help with Jamie then?" Nat asked.

Shaking his head, Bucky stated. "I do not, Nat. Jamie is fine. Rhodey, would you like to take a walk with Jamie and me?"

Rhodey smiled at that. "I think it is a wonderful idea. Let me go get ready," Rhodey replied, walking back upstairs to get his coat. 

James looked over to Nat just then. "Look, Nat, I know you are trying to help, but right now, I do not need it. Focus on your own messed up life," Bucky said. He gave her another look. "It is not like you have been there for Steve and me."

It was a slap to the face with those words because Bucky was right. Nat frowned as she spoke next. "I know," she replied as she had a flashback.

Flashback.

Grabbing his phone as he went to get the bag, James cursed under his breath as it started to ring. Nat quickly picked up her phone. "Hello," she said into it. 

James smiled a little before speaking. "Hey, Nat, Steve's in labor. Did you want to come up to the hospital later?" Bucky asked her.

He knew that they were not on speaking terms, but she was good friends with Steve, though. Nat held the phone to her ear as she got up. "I do not know, Barnes. I have stuff to do here, and it would be hard to get away," she said.

Curing again, Bucky said, "I am not asking you to do this for me, but for Steve, who would like to see you."

Nat smiled. "I will try to come, but no promises," Nat told him.

She knew she was not going to go, but at least it got Bucky off of her back. A moment later, she heard Steve come into the room. "Do you get a hold of Nat?" he asked as he panted.

Sitting down on the bed, Nat could hear Bucky said, "Yea, I did. She said she would try to make it."

With a nod, Steve rubbed his stomach. "They do not tell you how bad it is going to hurt," Steve replied. "Hey, Nat."

"Hi, Steve. Like I told Bucky, I will try to make it up, but no promises. You take care of yourself and the baby now," she said.

End of Flashback.

"Now you see what I mean," Bucky stated.

Nat gave the nod. "I do, and I do not remember why that popped into my head now," Nat told Bucky as Rhodey came back down the stairs. 

Bucky gave her a look. "Because you try to be a good friend, but some things get in the way," said Bucky as Rhodey smiled at him.

"I am ready to go when you are. When we are done for the walk, we should see Steve. I would like to see him," Rhodey told Bucky.

With a nod, Bucky said, "Yes, we should. I may see if Sam wants to go as well. If it's too cold, we will not be out long, but I figured we could go to the hospital in an hour or so."

Rhodey nodded at that. "I agree. It will give Steve time to rest and us time to hang out," Rhodey said as they walked over to the door.

Bruce smiled at them. "Have fun, and it is about 32 degrees outside," Bruce told them.

Pulling a jacket out of the stroller, Bucky put it on Jamie, who screamed. "I know you do not like this, but it is cold outside, Jamie, so you need this," said James to his son. 

Jamie gave him a dirty look as he continued to scream. Rhodey wanted to laugh but did not. On the other hand, Nat and Clint did laugh. "I see like my kids, your kid does not like wearing jackets," Clint stated.

With a huff, James looked at his son. "It is going to be ok. You wear this jacket now than later, we will see daddy. I know you miss him," Bucky said. 

Jamie calmed down so that Bucky could put his jacket on. "You are good at this," Rhodey said as they headed out the door. 

He smiled over at Rhodey. "Well, I learned that trick from Steve. He was the one to teach it to me," said Bucky with a smile on his face.

The wind hit them as they walked down the drive away and onto the sidewalk. "We should not stay out too long," Rhodey said through deep breaths.

With a nod, Bucky said, "I agree. It is too cold out."

They walked up the sidewalk away before turning around and going back. Once they got back inside, Bruce was nowhere to be found. They did hear screaming, though. "Clint, why did you wait to tell me how you felt?"

"Because I was not sure you felt the same way, Nat and I did not want to ruin our friendship."

She gave him a look. "Well, that should not have mattered Clint," Nat said as she stormed up the stairs. 

Nat was angry with him. She did not say a word to the two other men. Rhodey looked at Clint. "I am glad that we missed that. I think you should go out to cool off," Rhodey told him.

Giving the nod, Clint left them standing there. Bucky looked over to Rhodey. "Can you watch Jamie for a moment while I go check on Sam?" Bucky asked.

Rhodey gave the nod as Bucky went upstairs. Knocking on Sam's door, Bucky enters. Sam smiled at him since he was awake. "What is up?" he asked Bucky.

The man smiled at him before walking over to the bed. "How would you like to go see Steve?" asked Bucky.

Sam nodded as he stood up. He quickly put his shoes on. "I would love to go see Steve. Is Jamie coming with us?"

Bucky nodded at him. "He is. I am sure that Steve wants to see him as much as Jamie wants to see him," replied Bucky, with a smile on his face. "Also, grab your coat; it is cold out there."

Looking over to Bucky, Sam replied, "Are you going to be wearing anything other than that sweater out?"

Shaking his head, Bucky said, "I am fine, Sam. It's not that cold to me. Russia was a lot colder than here. Now let's go."

Sam shook his head but did not say anything else as they walked from the room. They walked down the stairs two at a time. Rhodey smiled up at them as they came into view. He was holding Jamie, who smiled at Bucky. "You boy about ready to go. Someone seems to be getting tired," Rhodey told them.

Walking quickly over to Rhodey, James took Jamie, who smiled at Bucky. Picking up his diaper bag, Bucky walked from the room. He walked outside and put Jamie in his rear-facing car seat. Sam and Rhodey were right behind them. The two of them got in the front seat. Sam looked over to Rhodey. "Who says you get to drive?" he asked Rhodey, who smiled at him.

"I am pretty sure I am the best driver here. They did not have a lot of cars back in his time, and you are still on the young side, which means you have a lot to learn," Rhodey said as he started up the car.

Putting his seat belt on, Bucky said, "We had cars, but not everyone owned one. My parents owned a car. I never did. I preferred to walk places."

Sam nodded at that. "I can understand that completely. So what do you think of Sam's driving?" asked Rhodey as he pulled out and onto the road. 

Bucky chuckled as he spoke. "I am not sure yet. I have only been with him when he has driven once. But I will say that he is a better driver than Steve at least in a car. On bikes, it is a different story."

With a chuckle, Rhodey smiled at them. "So, Sam, how do you take that?" Rhodey asked. 

He smiled over at Rhodey. "I take it well, Rhodey. At least I am a better driver than Steve," Sam stated.

"Well, you are, Sam. He always cusses when someone drives badly, and while he can drive, he does have the need for speed, which makes his driving worse," Bucky told them. 

The two up front nodded at that. "Amen to that," Sam replied. 

He had been behind the wheel with Steve too much. So, he saw first hand what Bucky was talking about. It was the main reason; Sam drove when Steve and he went anywhere. "I will say Amen to that as well," Rhodey stated as he turned down another road.

"When Steve and I go out, I drive unless I do not feel up to it. It does not bother me to drive now, but I still do not like it," Bucky said as they made it to the hospital.

Luckily when they got out, no media was around, and they were able to go right in. Sam smiled as they made it in. He looked over to Rhodey. "You called in a few favors, did you not?" Sam asked.

All Rhodey did was a smirk. He was not going to give away his secret if he did not have too. "I will never tell you, Sam," he replied.

While they went to Steve's room, Tony was on the phone. "Yes, this is Tony Stark. I was calling because I need to plan a funeral for my ex-wife that passed away," said Tony getting up as he heard his son cry.

Walking over to Aston, Tony picked him up and started to rock him. The lady, on the other end, felt bed for the man. This had to suck. "When do you want to do it?" she asked in a kind voice.

"I wanted to do it in the next few days if I can," Tony said in a tired voice.

He walked down the stairs to heat a bottle. While it was heating up, Tony fixed himself some food while holding Aston. The lady gave the nod before speaking. "We can do it this Friday if you like," she replied.

Tony nodded before getting the bottle and sitting down. He started to feed Aston as he spoke. "That would be fine," said Tony hanging up the phone. 

He then places a call to the newspaper. A man answered this time. "Hello, how may I help you?" he asked.

He was telling the man everything that he wanted Tony got off the phone with him after it was all said and done. He sighed as Nat came down the stairs. She smiled at him as she sat down next to him. "Do you want me to take him and feed him so that you can eat?" she asked him.

Nodding Tony handed his son off. "Thanks, Nat. I heard Clint and you yelling. Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Even if he did not like the fact that Clint cheated on his wife. He was still going to lend an ear. "I rather not, but thanks for being willing to listen if I needed to talk. I wish he would have told me this years ago is all," Nat said.

Tony nodded at that as he took a bite of his food. "Something is hard to say, Nat. Maybe Clint thought he was protecting you by not sharing his feelings with you," Tony stated. 

Little did they know that Clint was up in the vents listening in. "Maybe he was, but it still does not make it right. Clint should have told me. I love Clint with all my heart, but at the same time, I think I still have feelings for Bruce. What should I do?" Nat asked him.

Holding back a cough, Clint waited to hear what Tony had to say on the matter. "You know how much I loved Pepper, and you have seen what she did to me, Nat. You need to choose Clint or Bruce. You can not have both, and I do not want to see Bruce get hurt as he has before. He is my best friend," Tony said as he took another bite of his food. 

"You are right, Tony. I should tell Bruce that it is over, and nothing can happen between us. Also, I then can go tell Clint how I feel," Nat stated as she got up. "I can burp Aston and put him back to bed for you."

All Tony did was a nod as she got up. Once up the stairs and in Aston's room, Nat looked at Bruce. "I overheard you downstairs, Nat, and I understand. It is ok that we can not be together. I will find someone who will love me for me. You are not that person, Nat. Plus, I do not think I could be with you after Clint cheated on his wife with you. I have to go," Bruce said, walking from the room.

"I will always love you as a friend, Bruce," Nat called out.

Bruce had tears running down his face. It hurt that; he did not have someone to love him. Like the rest of the world, Bruce wanted someone to love him, but he guessed he was not meant to be loved. "Sure you will," he replied even if she could not hear him.

Once Aston was done with the bottle, she set it down on the changing table and started to burp Aston as Clint walked into the room. He did knock on the door first. "Hey Nat," he said, looking at her. "Are you ok?"

She shook her head. "I do not think so. I think I just hurt one of the most wonderful people in the world," she replied, looking over to Clint. 

Clint walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "It is going to be ok, Nat. Bruce will bounce back from this. All that matters is how you are doing with this," Clint stated as Nat laid Aston down just then.

She gave him a nod. "Maybe to you, but to me, it matters, Clint. What Bruce and I had was something special, and he was always there for me like you were. He never judged me. It just hurts me to see him like this," Nat said, leaning into Clint.

He kissed her on the forehead. "I know it does, but think about what I am going through right now, Nat. My kids are going to hate me once they find out the truth," Clint told her. 

Nat stared up at Clint. "They could never hate you. They will indeed hate what you did, but I do not believe they will hate you, Clint. People cheat all the time," she replied to him. 

He stared back at her. "Yes, people cheat all the time, Nat, but I hurt their mother," Clint said.

Holing her close, Clint leaned down to kiss her. Nat returned the kiss. "Let's not worry about that now, Clint. Let's enjoy the moment," Nat told him.

They kissed for a few moments before the two of them let up. Clint smiled as he leads her from the room. They walked down the hall to their room. Walking into it, they both went to lay on his bed. "I thought we could lay down and hold each other," Clint told her. 

Nat smiled at that. "I would like that," Nat said as some tears came down a bit more. 

Pulling her closer, Clint whispered in her ear, "Everything is going to be ok."

Making their way up to Steve's room, Jamie started to get excited. "I know you are thrilled to be going seeing daddy," James said to his son. 

Jamie nodded at him as he laid his head down on his father. Rhodey had not seen Steve since he was in the hospital. So, he wondered what Steve would look like when they got there. They made it to his room, which leads Bucky to knock on the door. "Hey," said Steve sitting up.

He smiled at them as they came into the room. "Hi," said Bucky walking over to the chair. 

Bucky sat down in the chair. Jamie held out his hands, so Steve took him. Looking over to Steve, Sam noticed that Steve looked pale. "How are you, Steve?" asked Sam.

Smiling at Sam, Steve replied, "I am fine, or I will be. Right now, I am tired and hungry."

Sam nodded as he took a seat. Rhodey, on the other hand, stayed standing but moved to closer to Sam. "You do not look fine," said Sam looking at him.

Jamie smiled as he leaned into his father and held onto him. Smiling down at his son, Steve replied, "I am, Sam. At least I feel fine." 

He sat up quickly, though. Right at that moment, Steve felt like he was going to throw up again. He pointed over to a bucket that Bucky handed to him. Throwing up into in, Steve handed it back over to Bucky when he was done. "Sure you are fine, Steve," Sam stated, giving him a look. "Please do not lie to us," Sam said. 

Steve took the bucket back from Bucky to throw up again. He then handed it back. "Ok, I am not lying, Sam, or not in the sense that you think. I do feel fine even if I do not look fine," Steve stated.

Looking over to him, Bucky said, "Cut the shit, Steve. We know you too well. I want you to be honest with us. You know I can tell when you are lying."

Nodding his head, Steve said, "I know, Bucky, but right now, other people need me."

Bucky gave him a dirty look. "Right now, it does not matter who needs you. You need to take care of your self and the baby. The two of you come first besides Jamie. You need to get help, Steve," said Bucky looking at him.

Nodding Rhodey said, "I agree with James. You do need to get help, Steve. Right now, you do not look so hot. Your skin is pale, and you keep throwing up. No one is going to judge you here."

Sam nodded as well. "It is not fair that you are putting the baby through this. I know you can not help it, but something has got to change," Sam said.

With a frown on his face, Steve said, "I know, but it is hard. I hear this voice inside of my head, and it tells me that I am fat."

Bucky did not mean to chuckle at that, but he did. "Steve, I know what voices in your head are like, but you need to get help. Those voices are not going to go away on their own," Bucky told him.

Sighing, Steve said, "Right. I do not know what to do anymore. I can not keep going on like this, but it is hard to get help. At first, I did not think that it was bad, but now I know it is."

There was a small knock on the door as a young woman walked in. Her brown hair was done up in a bun, and her sneakers made noises as she came into the room. "Steve, it is time for your food," she said.

Steve did not smile at her. "Can I have real food?" asked Steve. He gave her a look. "I hate the food from the I.v."

The nurse shook her head. "I am sorry, Steve, this is what you get for now. Until you stop throwing up," Ashley told him.

She walked over to him, smiling at him as she did so. "Please?" asked Steve, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

Ashley looked over to Bucky. "I bet you have to deal with this a lot," she said.

Bucky nodded at her. "I do and Steve, you heard what she said. So, does as she says. Otherwise, I will have to bring your ma back from the dead to scold you," Bucky said to Steve, who gave him a dirty look. 

"You do not have to do that, Bucky," Steve told him as the nurse pressed a button on his I.v. 

Ashley smiled at him as she wrote down how he was doing that night. "Steve, have you thrown up any tonight?" she asked him.

Steve nodded. "A few times since they have been here," Steve replied as he looked to Bucky for the bucket.

Handing the bucket back over to Steve, the man threw up again. It sucked big time, and he was so over this. He knew he needed to get better. "Well, I see it is still happening. A doctor who deals with eating disorders will be in to talk to you sometime soon. Now I want you to get plenty of rest and let me know if you need anything," Ashley said as she walked from the room. 

With a sigh, Steve threw up again. He then handed the bucket back over to Bucky, who went to raise it out in the sink since the nurse had not done that. "Steve, we care about you a lot. We only want what is best for the both of you," Sam told him.

Steve nodded at that. "I understand, Sam. It is going to be a hard road for me, but I think I can do this," replied Steve.

With a smile, Rhodey said, "I know you can, Steve. I have faith in you. You never give up so, do not start now," Rhodey told him. 

Steve nodded at that. "You are right, Rhodey. I need to get some rest now," Steve said as Bucky came back into the room.

The man walked over to him and hugged him. He then kissed him on the lips. "We will go so that you can get some rest. Please take care of yourself and the baby. I will come back up soon," said Bucky.


End file.
